


Apex Predator

by Darkpetal16



Category: Hunter X Hunter, Naruto
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Cute, Dark Comedy, Female Uzumaki Naruto, Funny, Happy, Humor, Irony, Overpowered, Overpowered Uzumaki Naruto, Parody, Stealing, Wholesome, friendships, op, supportive
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-16 13:49:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 22
Words: 64,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28583034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkpetal16/pseuds/Darkpetal16
Summary: In which Konoha's beloved jinchūriki finds herself in an odd new world with only Kurama by her side. He insists bijū bombs are the only way to fix this issue. OP characters doing OP things.
Comments: 42
Kudos: 171
Collections: Into another world





	1. Apex Predator

**Author's Note:**

> Artwork by Cantrona.
> 
> This story was edited by TaintedLetter.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

She woke up in the center of a crater charred, and still smoking. She opened her big eyes, finding herself staring up at a cloudless sky as blue as her eyes. She continued to stare up at it, before she decided to sit up and look around.

' _Where am I?'_ She questioned, glancing around. Nothing around her seemed familiar, not even—

Not even herself.

She looked down at her hands, seeing small fingers flex at her whim.

They did not look like they belonged to her, though.

' _Were my hands always so small?'_

She could not remember them being anything else, though.

She could not remember _anything_ about her.

There was no accompanying distress with this realization, because she did not know she should be afraid, or concerned. As far as she was concerned at the moment, this was how things ought to be. She had no reason to suspect her lack of memories were odd, and so the small girl wobbly stood up and assessed herself.

And this is how her next story began.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

The first week since she had first woken up was one spent in solitude. She did not come across any other human, and it was during this week that she experimented with what she knew and did not know.

She knew how to read and write in two separate languages. One referred to as _kanji,_ and the other as _fūinjutsu._ She knew how to hunt, and how to use this warm substance in her body known as _chakra_ like she knew how to breathe. She knew how to forage, and how to sew clothes together from the skins of animals she had slain.

She knew how to kill. She knew how to survive.

She wandered through the wilderness, not certain where to go, or what her goal was.

And in that isolated journeying, she was left largely to her thoughts.

It was during one of these sessions that she realized she ought to have a name. She felt like names were usual because how else was she supposed to refer to herself?

But she could not recall ever having a name before.

For days she pondered what to call herself, and tried out several nouns before settling on one that felt warm on her tongue.

_Fox._

Yes.

She quite liked that name.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

When she finally did come into contact with society she did so with brazen confidence.

Well.

Not so much confidence, so much as she didn't understand why people kept looking at a half naked girl covered in deer skin, blood, and mud.

It was in society that she learned that while she could verbally understand what was said, she could not read the written language. Nothing looked familiar, and no one smelled welcoming. She continued to wander about aimlessly from city to city, stealing whatever she needed or wanted, as she tried to understand this alien world.

Then she heard about _Hunters_.

The term itself was spoke with such reverence and awe that it sparked immediate curiosity in the small girl.

She looked into it, not because she thought it would be helpful, but because she had no other direction. She had no goal, no purpose, and for the first time in months something finally caught her interest.

 _Hunters_ were elite individuals with extraordinary power, knowledge, and skill. Hunters had access to nearly all parts of the world, and were equally welcomed.

They were strong.

They were wise.

They sounded interesting.

It didn't take much thought for Fox to decide to become a Hunter—she literally had nothing else to do—and once that was done it only took a week for her to find out where the next exam was.

And three days to get there.

But when she got there something odd happened.

No.

Something _wonderful_ happened.

**Good morning, brat.**

She faltered in her steps, the voice gruff and familiar.

**No memories, eh? Don't worry. Your** _**best friend** _ **is back.**

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**


	2. Margay I

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

The concrete walls reeked of mold and rot. The sewers—for there was no other word Fox could use to describe it—were large in scale, but that was the only impressive part about it. Fox's nose wrinkled on its own as she had to continue to breathe in the sour stench of that foul place. It did not help that most of the other humans that came had gross scents, too.

More than half were sweaty and anxious. What a horrible smell!

Fox tugged one of her pigtails around her nose to try and appease the gross scents she was bombarded with.

 **Fox, huh?** The voice was amused, and he chuckled. **Bfft. You would remember that.**

She didn't know how to respond to the voice in her head. It had spoken to her as soon as she entered the meeting point for the Hunter Exam. Could it hear her thoughts?

**Of course I can hear your thoughts.**

' _Then who are you?'_

**You already know that.**

But she didn't. She knew hearing the voice made her happy, but that was the extent of her knowledge.

 **It's okay,** he said, his voice becoming more gentle. **You** _ **will**_ **remember.**

' _Who am I?'_

**Whoever you want to be.**

The answer stirred something inside of her. A sense of... relief.

' _I can be whoever I want to be?'_

 **What we have here is a rare opportunity. A chance for you to grow, and live without prejudice and hate tainting you.** The voice fell silent for a few minutes. **A chance for you to have a life without scars, or unfair burdens.**

Fox didn't know how to respond.

**And if you choose to say fuck all humans, you know, I'm always here to support that...**

' _I have not yet met a human I liked,'_ Fox thought, her eyes glancing down at her thick black cargo pants. She kept an orange belt—she didn't know why she chose _orange_ of all colors because it didn't match the rest of her outfit at all, but she saw it and instinctively grabbed onto it—tied around it. Looped onto the belt were storage scrolls she had made—she stole the ink and paper then infused her own chakra into it—and a few pouches of handmade or stolen weapons.

She wore a multi-purple shaded top to go along with her dark purple boots and purple hair ties for her pigtails.

**They are a bit annoying, aren't they?**

Fox nodded in agreement with the voice inside her head. ' _Do you know my name?'_

**Of course I do.**

' _What is it?'_

**I like Fox better.**

' _Oh. Was it a bad name?'_

**No. But Fox is one thousand times better.**

Fox digested this, before accepting such. She had no reason to refute. She had no strong attachment to her previous name, and a part of her implicitly trusted the voice.

When the voice sensed her acceptance of this, she thought she heard him sigh in her head.

**Miwako. That was the name your parents gave you.**

' _Oh. I think I like Fox better.'_

**See? I'm glad you understand.**

There was no familiarity to the name Miwako. Fox had already been using her name for a few weeks by that point and had grown somewhat attached to it.

**So... you're going to take this exam?**

' _Yes. I thought obtaining a Hunter license would make things easier.'_

 **It seems like it, judging from what I gathered of your memories so far,** the voice commented. **Do you have plans past that?**

' _No. Do you?'_

**It looks like there's some cities that are in need of a few bijū bombs.**

' _Kurama!'_

**Ah! You remember?**

Fox had reflexively responded with indignation, not realizing what she had slipped out. With the name came a rush of joyous flashes. Rapid pictures of her at different stages of her life sharing warm moments with an oversized fox flashed through her mind.

Her memories had not wholly come back, but she knew in her heart of hearts that Kurama was her very dear best friend.

She also knew he was a bit of a dick.

' _I'm not keeping the name Fox anymore, you arrogant tsundere,'_ Miwa—she decided to go for Miwa instead of Miwako—thought.

_**I AM NOT A TSUNDERE!** _

The cry of rage made Miwa smile to herself.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

Miwa watched them enter one by one, each of them tinged with the sour stench of anxiety. A few of them tried to approach her, but she curled her lip back in plain disdain and snarled.

She was not opposed to conversation, but the ones that approached her had such a _gross_ feeling to them.

 **No one else here has an established chakra network, but instead they have a singular core of raw energy that is similar to chakra,** Kurama observed through Miwa's senses. **Training in Sage has honed your instincts, and I'm glad that was not lost in the transition. But then again chakra training is more like a muscle memory for the soul and body than something you actively remember. Your soul and body knows it even if your mind does not.**

Miwa could agree to that explanation, as it explained why she retained knowledge of her skills but not who she was. She remained indifferent to the applicants that entered since most of them had a nasty smell about them.

Then in came a scent of gentle rain, and irises. Miwa reflexively inhaled deeply as her gaze zeroed in on a boy about her age. He had soft blue eyes and clean white hair. His energy—chakra?—was strong enough it stood out, but untouched like fresh snow.

He noticed her gaze almost immediately, slightly angling his head and catching her eyes. The two stared at each other for a split second—he was clearly assessing her—before he seemingly dismissed her and walked by.

As he moved, though, she realized that he walked without making a sound. His footsteps were light, and well balanced.

' _A hunter?'_

**Well he looks fun.**

Miwa didn't disagree, and continued to watch as more contestants arrived. Perhaps an hour had passed before the final group entered.

A strong smell of lilies and the ocean drew Miwa's attention to another boy about her age. His eyes sparkled with childish innocence and wonder,and he wore eye-popping green clothes. He had a fishing rod attached to his back, and spiky black hair. Like with rainy boy, this one had a large core inside of him that was untouched. But it reminded Miwa more of a still pond, than fresh snow.

Beside him were two others that had tinges of sour anxiety overlaying their initial scents.

Behind the lily-boy was another boy a bit older. He had blonde hair that was combed neatly and dressed in odd attire—odd to Miwa, at least—with ashy gray eyes. He smelled of asphodel, and rust. Inside of him was a core that felt twisted, broken, but still warm with light. It was untouched, yet already mangled.

Lastly of this new trio was a man dressed in a suit, who smelled of rubbing alcohol and horehound. The core inside this dark haired man was tiny in comparison to his companions—average for the other contestants—but it shined like the dawn.

In comparison to all the other contestants that had entered, those four really stood out to Miwa.

They were the only ones that Miwa did not instinctively want to stay far away from, at least.

' _I wonder what I smell and look like to them?'_

**You smell of ash and gladiolus.**

She watched a large man who smelled so sweet it was nauseating approach the trio. She saw him try to lie and deceive the group, and she saw him fail spectacularly at such.

A high pitched bell rung throughout the sewer, silencing everyone and drawing their attention to the man who was holding it.

The man in question had long legs, and dressed like a butler. His hair was a soft pale pink that was neatly combed down the middle, and curled up at the end. He had a slightly darker pink handlebar moustache, and a pair of eyes devoid of interest.

Miwa noted how he smelled of lavender tea, and how his core—unlike the vast majority of contestants—was trained to a finite point. It was impressive, but only because Miwa had only seen a handful of other cores like his.

 **Still nowhere near as big as** _ **ours**_.

' _It's not nice to brag, Kurama.'_

Kurama haughtily replied with, **It's not bragging. It's stating the obvious.**

The pink haired man did not bat an eye as the wall behind him was pulled up like a door. Instead, he said, "I apologize for the wait. The registration period for the Hunter Exam applicants has ended. The Hunter Exam will now begin! A final word of caution. If you lack the necessary ability, or luck, you will end up seriously injured or dead. Those who accept the risks, please follow me. Otherwise, please exit via the elevator behind you."

A pause. No one moved.

"Very well. All 405 participants will proceed. Please follow me."

The man then promptly turned around and began to walk in a march.

Miwa, and the other examinees, started to follow behind him. After a couple minutes of walking the man began to pick up the pace, and within minutes everyone was having to jog, or run to keep up with him.

"I've neglected to introduce myself," lavender man said. "I am Satotz, your examiner for the First Phase of the exam. I will lead you to the Second Phase."

"Second Phase? What about the First Phase?" one of the participants called out.

"It has already commenced," Satotz responded. "You must follow me to the Second Phase."

"That's it? Just follow you?"

Satotz flatly answered with, "Yes. I cannot tell you where or when you must arrive. You just need to follow me."

' _Is that it?'_ Miwa wondered, making note to memorize his scent in case she lost him.

Kurama groaned. **Following? That's it? That's so** _ **boring**_ **!**

Miwa was inclined to agree.

**Why not just tag him with** _**hiraishin,** _ **go blow up a couple cities, then jump right back?**

' _No. That might disqualify me.'_

Kurama grumbled with disdain.

As she broke out into a steady jog, she looked around for those pleasant smells.

' _If we're running, might as well make conversation,'_ she figured, speeding up a touch to catch up with the lily-smelling boy.

"Hi," she greeted.

"Hi!" he chirped back. "I'm Gon."

"Miwa," she said in return. "Is this your first time taking the exam?"

"Yep!" Gon adjusted his yellow backpack to fit more squarely on his shoulders. "How about you?"

"Yeah," Miwa answered, glancing back at his fishing pole. "Do you like to fish?"

He grinned cutely. "How can you tell?"

"Absurd shot in the dark."

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**(Half an hour later...)**

Gon was pleasant company. It wasn't hard to figure out he had a sweet childish innocence about him.

There was also something about him.

The way he acted, the way his mere presence reminded Miwa of the sun just... well, she just instantly took a liking to him. She almost wanted to say he reminded her of someone, but she couldn't place it.

"Hey, wait up, brat! You should show the Hunter Exam some respect!" snapped out the sterile-smelling man that had come with Gon.

"Huh?" the boy of gentle rain stared blankly back at the older man. He was riding atop a yellow and red skateboard.

The man pointed accusingly at the skateboard. "That's cheating!"

"How?"

"This is an endurance test!"

"No, it isn't," Gon called out from behind. "The examiner only said to follow him."

"Whose side are you on?!"

The pale iris-smelling boy frowned thoughtfully, slowing down his skating to roll beside Gon and Miwa. "Hey, how old are you?"

"Twelve," Gon answered.

"Hmm..." The boy with hair like untouched snow flipped his skateboard over. "Guess I'll run, too."

Gon let out a gasp of amazement. "Wow! That was so cool!"

"I'm Killua."

"I'm Gon! This is Miwa," Gon said, gesturing over to Miwa.

"And how old are you?" Killua asked the blonde girl.

' _How old am I?'_

**Uh...**

"I don't know," Miwa said with a small shrug.

"Ehh? How do you not know?" Gon looked over at her in surprise, his eyes wide. "How many winters do you remember?"

"Um... None?" Miwa answered semi-honestly. She didn't count those flashes of moments with Kurama since she couldn't tangibly claim them as memories.

" _Ehh?_ Did you grow up someplace really warm?"

"I guess?"

"What about birthdays?" Killua asked.

"I can't remember any."

"Oh, wow," Gon commented. "I guess that would make it hard to tell..."

Killua peered at Miwa. "You look about our age, so it can't be too far off."

"Maybe," was all Miwa said in response.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**(Four hours later...)**

The run was going fine so far. Killua, Gon, and Miwa chatted amongst themselves as they ran, forming a warm camaraderie. While the boys asked plenty of questions to one another and Miwa, Miwa wasn't able to answer much of any.

Some answers were supplied by Kurama—such as favorite foods—but she had to answer a large portion with a shrug or _I don't know_.

Their conversations came to a lull, though, when the man that Gon had came with lagged behind before completely stopping. He was bent over his knees, panting heavily as his face dripped with sweat. Gon stopped as soon as he noticed, turning back to stare intently at the man.

Killua and Miwa both stopped to wait beside Gon, Killua frowning when he realized why they were stopped.

**I swear if you found another Therapy-no-Jutsu user I will kill myself.**

' _You love yourself too much for that.'_

"Oi, leave him," Killua said. "Let's get going."

Gon didn't respond, though, choosing to continue to stare back at the bent over man. The exhausted man stared back for a couple minutes before grimacing, and shouting out. "Screw that! I came here to become a Hunter!"

With energy that he probably didn't even know he had, he shot forward, sprinting wobbly past the trio.

Gon smiled, pulled out his fishing rod and launched the line out to hook the man's forgotten briefcase. With ease, Gon reeled it back in, hanging it on his backpack.

"That was cool!" Killua grinned, and the trio started to run again. "Let me try that later."

"Only if you let me try out your skateboard."

"Deal!"

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**(An hour later...)**

Killua looked over at both of us and grinned. "Hey, wanna race to see who finishes first? Last place has to buy everyone else dinner."

"Heck yeah!" Gon exclaimed.

"Sure," Miwa agreed, picking up her speed.

**Are you going to use** _**shushin** _ **?**

' _Nah. It's only a friendly race.'_

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**(Another hour later...)**

The trio continued their friendly conversation as they raced.

"I'm impressed the two of you can keep up with me," Killua remarked after their talking grew to another lull.

"Really?" Gon rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, while Miwa tried not to smirk.

Killua frowned at that. "Or maybe it's just that everyone else is too slow. Man... The Hunter Exam is going to be a breeze... that's no fun."

"Hey, why do you want to become a Hunter?"

"Me? I'm not really interested in becoming a Hunter. I heard the exam was supposed to be really hard, so I thought it would be fun," Killua answered honestly. "But this is disappointing. What about you?"

"Well my dad's a Hunter, so I want to be a Hunter like him," Gon chirped.

"What kind of Hunter is he?"

"Don't know!"

Killua and Miwa stared at him in disbelief before both snorted. Killua chuckled. "You want to be like your dad, but you don't even know him?"

"Well Mito raised me," Gon explained.

"Mito?" Miwa inquired.

"My aunt, Mito. I've only ever seen pictures of my dad, but I heard he took the exams when he was twelve, and passed. He left the island to become a Hunter. I want to find out why he was a hunter! What about you, Miwa?"

"I have nothing else to do," Miwa bluntly answered.

That made Killua howl with laughter while Gon snickered.

As they continued to climb up the steps of the sewers, a light started to shine through. Up ahead they could see the exit of the tunnel, and the trio exchanged excited grins before bursting out into a final sprint.

Miwa decided to go for a tie, using her chakra to enhance her speed enough to match the two boys'.

And as three, they all jumped outside the sewers—the first contestants to do so—while exclaiming, "Goal!"

"Looks like you owe me dinner!" Killua crowd.

"Na-uh! I crossed first."

"No way!"

Gon turned to the instructor, Satotz, and asked, "Ne, ne, who crossed first?"

"I believe the three of you crossed simultaneously," Satotz answered politely.

"Hmm... then I'll buy dinner," Gon declared.

"I'll buy dessert," Miwa offered.

"And I'll eat both," Killua settled for.

The three grinned at each other once more.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**BONUS TT!AU - In which Miwa, Killua, and Gon have traveled back to this point in time to retake the exams with all the knowledge they possess.** This is really just for anyone who is re-reading after completing the story for teh lulz.

"Aaand we're running again," Killua sighed as he, Gon, and Miwa immediately took the lead.

Miwa sucked in a big gulp of air and then bellowed out a _massive_ whirlwind behind them. Every single contestant that was behind them—except Leorio and Kurapika who Gon had immediately carried up front—was thrown up into the air and flung to the end of the sewer.

Miwa then used the only doton jutsu she had mastered, and conjured a thick concrete wall behind them to block them from coming forward.

Satotz briefly glanced behind him to see only five contestants left.

"Why?" Gon asked her, shaking his head.

"Because fuck Hisoka," Miwa answered.

Killua patted her back. "That's the only reason to anything anymore."

"C'mon guys he's not _that_ bad."

"Ugh. Such a shounen hero." Miwa rolled her eyes.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks all for giving this story a try!
> 
> I want to blast through this ASAP so we can get to the good shit like the the Zoldyck family, or the Phantom Troupe (the original Akatsuki for my Naruto buddies).
> 
>  **Answer:** _Toxic Thoughts_ seems accurate. I'd like it to be _Enjoy the Ride_.
> 
>  **Question:** If you were reborn in _Hunter x Hunter_ but could bring any power/ability with you from any source... what would you bring?
> 
> Reviews are **love**!


	3. Margay II

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

Outside of the tunnel was nothing but a dense fog that carried with it the scents of a swamp and muggy forest.

Gon, Killua, and Miwa took a seat on the slab of stone just outside of the sewers as they waited for Gon's friends. Miwa would learn that the blond boy with the broken core was named Kurapika, and the older one who was almost left behind was named Leorio.

Kurapika and Leorio were near the end of the group, so it took a few minutes before they had caught up. Kurapika had discarded his outer shirt in favor of only wearing his white undershirt and white pants, and when he reached the trio he greeted them with an out of breath _hello_.

"Is this our destination?" Kurapika asked them, glancing around the fog.

"Nope!"

A small gust of wind blew through, and with it the fog began to slowly lift up. It was still present, but the denseness was no longer so thick that Miwa couldn't see through.

"The Milsy Wetlands, also known as the Swindler's Swamp. We must cross these wetlands to reach Phase Two of the exam. This place is home to bizarre animals, many of them crafty creatures who deceive humans and prey upon them. Please be very careful as you follow me," Satotz said, drawing everyone's attention back to the pink-haired proctor. "If you are deceived, you are dead."

With that remark, the gate to the sewers shut closed.

Satotz continued. "With that in mind the creatures here will use every trick in the book to fool their prey. An ecosystem in which creatures obtain food through deceit... Hence the nickname Swindler's Swamp. Follow me closely so you can't be deceived."

' _Maybe I should mark Gon and Killua with_ hiraishin _. They both seem competent enough to not get lost, so having back ups would be smart.'_

**Or maybe you're just worried about them and want to keep an eye on them! And you call** _**me** _ **a tsundere.**

Miwa's cheeks flushed, but she ignored Kurama.

"Don't... Don't be deceived!" cried out a voice.

All eyes swiveled over to a human—no, Miwa could smell that whatever it was over there was not human. The-thing-that-looked-human stumbled out, appearing battered and nearly dead. "Don't let them fool you." The thing pointed accusingly at Satotz. "He's lying to you! He's an imposter!" It pointed back to itself. "I'm the real examiner."

There was some confusion amongst the examinees, and they all turned to question amongst themselves about what was going on.

**Holy fuck are they actually falling for this?**

The thing pulled out another creature that vaguely looked like Satotz. "It's a Man-Faced Ape, one of the creatures that dwell in the Milsy Wetlands. Man-Faced Apes love the taste of fresh human flesh. However, their limbs are long and thin, so they are quit weak. That's why they disguise themselves as humans. They trick humans into following them into these wetlands, where they team up with other animals to kill and devour them. He—"

Miwa could not believe that some of the humans were now turning on Satotz as the creature spewed out its ridiculous speech. Even Gon's friends looked at Satotz distrustingly.

' _This is just wasting our time at this point,'_ Miwa decided, and with a flick of her wrist, and a little enhancement from chakra, she threw a wooden senbon needle at the thing. It dug straight into its head, piercing all the way through the skull so only a tiny hole could be seen.

The thing fell back, dead, and eyes turned to Miwa.

"If any of you actually believed something that foul smelling was human, you're idiots," Miwa flatly told them. "Furthermore, using _common sense_ why would Satotz-san go out of his way to _specifically_ warn us about creatures deceiving us if he wanted to deceive us?"

Miwa folded her arms over her chest, and glared back at the abashed competitors.

"Foul stench?" Gon repeated back, looking over at the body of the creature. "It did smell kind of weird... Wow, you must have a really good nose, Miwa!"

"Yes," Miwa said, brushing back her pigtails.

As this exchange was done, vultures immediately swooped in and began to devour the corpse of the creature.

"Yes, well," Satotz said, drawing attention back to him. "You will be encountering such deception on a regular basis. I believe that a number of you were fooled into suspecting my identity? Do you understand now, then? If you lose sight of me in the thick fog of the Milsy Wetlands, you will never reach the exam's Second Phase. Do bear that in mind. Let us be on our way."

"Ah..." Miwa reached forward to Gon and Killua. She patted both of their backs, leaving behind the mark for her _hiraishin_.

Both jumped at that, as if shocked, and turned to look at her with inquisitive gazes.

But she only smiled back in return.

Without another word, the run was back on again.

369 contestants were left, as 36 had dropped out.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

It wasn't any bit difficult to run through the marshlands for Miwa. She barely had to exert any chakra to easily glide over the wet grounds and keep pace with Killua and Gon.

The only thing that made it less than easy was that the fog was beginning to thicken again, and with it Miwa could barely make out anyone else's scents. The fog itself had such a heavy, dense stench to it that it overrode a lot of the other contestants.

"Gon, Miwa, let's move up a bit more," Killua said.

"Mn, yeah we don't want to lose sight of the examiner," Gon agreed.

"I'm more concerned about increasing the distance between us and Hisoka."

' _Hisoka?'_ It took Miwa a moment to register the name. ' _Oh... him.'_

Hisoka was a weird man with bright red hair, clown makeup, and dressed like a jester. He had an odd combination of smelling like oleander and bubblegum. His core was elastic: stretchy, but powerful.

He didn't strike Miwa as someone good, but he wasn't overtly evil, either.

Then again he did murder a contestant for bumping into him previously.

' _But I've killed a lot of people, too.'_ Miwa knew that about herself like she knew her hair was blonde. She knew she had been trained to take lives, and she understood that she wouldn't hesitate to do so again, and again.

Humans, animals...a life was a life, and if Miwa needed to take it, then she would.

Hisoka was kind of like Miwa in that sense, except he seemed to draw a sort of twisted happiness from it.

Like Kurama.

 **Don't lump me in with that weirdo,** Kurama snarled. **I enjoy stomping the hope and life out of pitiful humans who do not understand how beneath me they are. I live for that one moment of realizing all hope is lost and true despair enters their disgusting, squirmy little eyes.**

Yes. Exactly like Kurama.

"Staying close to him is dangerous," Killua quietly finished, picking up his speed. "I can smell it."

Gon immediately inhaled. "Hmm? I don't think he smells."

"Not _literally_ ," Killua sighed.

"Leorio! Kurapika! Killua says we need to move up."

"Hey! Can't you read the tension in the air?" Killua scolded Gon.

' _There's tension?'_

**This is** _**supposed** _ **to be a life threatening situation.**

' _It is?'_

**Obviously not for us, but for tiny pathetic humans.**

"Moron!" Leorio called back. "If I could I'd already be up there."

"Don't worry about us," Kurapika added.

"Let's go," Killua said, moving faster with Gon and Miwa picking up their own speeds, too.

As they moved, the fog grew thicker, and screams began to echo around us. The trio moved in silence for a few minutes before Gon hesitantly broke it by saying, "I can hear people screaming all around us."

"It just means we have to stay on guard," Killua said.

"I'm worried about Leorio and Kurapika... I hope they're okay."

The three took another step, and the ground fell beneath them. Except they didn't fall far, since it turned out the pitfall was actually the inside of a giant frog's mouth. Miwa reflexively shot out one of her lower-powered fūton jutsus and completely obliterated the frog.

The three children looked around at the remnants of what was once a giant frog.

"Wow, how'd you do that, Miwa?" Gon asked, eyes bright.

"Reflex," Miwa responded, uncertain how to explain chakra to someone without a chakra network in a timely manner. "Come on, we shouldn't dawdle."

"Mn... I'm still worried about them."

"Miwa's right, we shouldn't linger. They'll be fine," Killua dismissed.

Miwa turned back to face Gon, a frown on her face. "Do you want to go look for them?"

At Gon's nod, Miwa's frown deepened. She had no personal like for Kurapika, nor Leorio, but she had grown fond of Gon in the past six hours of chatting with him and Killua. He was a lovely boy with an unmistakable charisma that made it easy to talk to him. In her short time in this world Miwa had never encountered such a human before. Gon and Killua, Miwa guessed, were special cases and deserved a chance.

If Gon were to search on his own there was a good chance he could end up lost in the fog. It would be such a shame if Miwa let one of her potential friends die so quickly due to laziness.

Miwa looked over at Killua before saying, "Killua, you go ahead. I'm... very good at tracking so I'll make sure we catch up."

Killua shrugged. "Okay."

"Come on, Gon."

**Pah. Damn you and your hero complex.**

' _Is that a tsundere shit talking?'_

**I WILL END YOU.**

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

It didn't take long to pick up Leorio and Kurapika's scents. Gon sprinted ahead of Miwa the moment he caught wind of their fresh scents. He ripped out his fishing rod, and just as the duo broke through the fog to reveal an odd sight, Gon launched his hook forward.

Miwa only had a second to process the fact that Hisoka—the weird clown man—was about to grab an exhausted Leorio before Gon's lure smacked him square in the cheek.

Hisoka's head snapped back from the blow, and Miwa dashed forward full speed to land a restrained punch square in Hisoka's chest. She wasn't aiming to kill, currently, nor break bones.

Even still, her chakra-enhanced strength was enough to knock Hisoka square off his feet.

Miwa stood between him and Leorio, eyes narrowed in mild annoyance. "Back off, or deal with me."

For some reason this made Hisoka laugh, and he hopped back on his feet, dusting off the dirt. He looked in between Gon and Miwa, a gleam of sadistic interest entering his eyes. "What a good little girl."

"I said," Miwa repeated slowly, raising her right hand, " _back off or deal with me_."

She slapped her hand away in the air, pushing out a generous amount of raw fūton chakra. The wind was harsh enough to blow Hisoka back several steps, and rip up chunks of land.

"I think I might take you up on that off—" Hisoka was cut off by the sound of beeping, and he casually checked his pockets. He pulled out an odd devise, frowned, and then looked back over at Miwa with what could only be described as regret. "A shame. We will have to do this later..."

He then walked away, and Leorio and Gon stared at Miwa. Gon with eyes of amazement, and Leorio in disbelief. "How—how—"

"Yes, well... where's Kurapika? I thought I smelled him nearby," Miwa asked, changing the subject.

And as if on cue, Kurapika ran toward the group, out of breath. "G-Gon? Ah...what happened here?"

"That's everyone, right?" Miwa asked Gon, ignoring Kurapika question.

"Y-Yeah. Now we all have to get back," Gon said.

"No worries. All three of you come here," Miwa said, holding out her hands. After exchanging curious looks, the trio placed their hands in Miwa, and she used her _hiraishin_ to teleport all of them to the mark on Killua's back.

' _Oh that actually used up a tiny bit of my chakra. Killua got pretty far.'_

"AH!" they all exclaimed when they teleported directly behind a thoroughly startled Killua in a flash of yellow light.

"Wh—where—WE TELEPORTED?!" Leorio howled, pointing an accusatory finger at Miwa. "HOW?!"

"Wh-Wh-Wha—" Kurapika had no words.

Gon on the other hand was _amazed_. "That was so amazing! It was like _whoosh_ and now—oh, hi, Killua—how did you do that?! Can you show me?!"

"How—did you— _did you teleport behind me_?" Killua demanded, then his eyes widened. "When you patted our backs! You—you did something!"

"Yeah," Miwa agreed.

**Tell them it's a family secret.**

' _Is it?'_

**Technically yes.**

"It's a family secret," Miwa said, holding a finger up to her lips. "So please keep it down, okay?"

"Aw... what if I call you big sister?" Gon asked.

"Uhh..."

**No.**

" _Uhhh_...."

_**No.** _

"Well... umm.."

**Kit, repeat after me: no.**

"No for now?" Miwa settled on, earning a groan from Kurama and an excited exclamation from Gon.

"Wh—If you teach him, you have to teach me!" Killua demanded.

"Okay," Miwa agreed. " _If_ I teach either of you, I'll teach the other, too. ."

**BRAT.**

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**BONUS TT!AU - In which Miwa, Killua, and Gon have traveled back to this point in time with all the knowledge and skills they possess at the end of the series.**

**Scenario A - With only five left (picking up from previous bonus scene).**

"So you just happened to think the two of us were good people and felt the need to save us from your friend's attack?" Leorio clarified as the five of them ran through the swamp.

"Yeah, exactly," Gon lied, nodding.

"I'm not complaining, but..." Kurapika trailed off, uncertain how to finish.

"Be thankful," Killua suggested. "Because we absolutely would have left you behind otherwise."

"Uh... thanks, I guess."

"Fuck I'm bored," Miwa complained.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**Scenario B - In which the trio were perfectly well behaved at the start.**

"I'm BOOOOORED," Miwa cried out, this horrible agony taking hold of her heart.

"Wanna... see who can stealth kill the most?" Killua suggested.

"Guys, you shouldn't just kill these poor contestants for no reason," Gon scolded them.

"But it's not without reason. It's because we're bored," Miwa argued.

Gon considered this. "You make a good point. Okay, have fun."

"Woo! Double points for Hisoka's death."

"Aw c'mon he's not that bad—"

Killua and Miwa groaned.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Answer:** The gamer ability or a massive chakra core with the know-how to use it, please.
> 
>  **Question:** If you could be reborn alongside someone—as in you would be their sibling in the next life in a completely new world to both of you—who would it be?
> 
> Reviews are **love**!


	4. Margay III

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

The stage of the Second Phase took part outside of a magnificent white-stoned castle. The heavy fog of the marshlands dissipated as they neared the castle. Tall white stone walls stretched out as far as the eye could see on either side of the castle doors.

"Everyone, the Second Phase of the exam will occur here, in the Visca Forest Preserve," Satotz called out. "So I shall take my leave. Best of luck to all of you."

As Satotz walked through the group and out of sight, the massive doors opened up to reveal a large courtyard and a mansion—what she initially thought was a castle due to the structure of the stone walls outside.

From inside the courtyard sat a lithe scantily dressed woman with green hair done up in five pigtails. Behind her towered a very large man with a dull look about him.

The woman loudly said, "All applicants who've passed the First Phase, please enter." As a group, everyone began to gather into the courtyard and the woman continued, "Welcome. I'm Menchi, the examiner for the Second Phase."

The large man behind her said cheerfully, "Likewise, I'm Buhara!"

As Miwa neared the examiners she was able to get a closer look at Menchi and Buhara. Menchi was dressed in a black sports bra with a see-through crop top, booty shorts, and high boots. The dark skinned woman was lounging on a purple couch, with Buhara standing behind her.

Suddenly a loud gurgle echoed throughout the clearing.

Menchi turned her head back to look at Buhara. "You must be hungry."

"Starving," Buhara confirmed.

Menchi stood up from the couch, placing her hands on her hips. "There you have it. The Second Phase will involve... cooking!"

"C-Cooking?"

"Wait a minute, _cooking_?"

' _What?'_ Miwa thought in disbelief.

 **Running... and now cooking? I thought this was supposed to be** _ **difficult**_ **,** Kurama griped. **This is duller than watching paint dry.**

"We're here to take the Hunter's Exam," one of the participants snapped out.

"You're right," Menchi agreed. "Your challenge for the Second Phase is to produce a dish that will satisfy our palate."

"Why do we have to cook?!" another called out.

"That's because we are Gourmet Hunters," Menchi said confidently.

For some reason this made the majority of the participants laugh. This seemed to irritate Menchi as she sighed and folded her arms over her chest.

"So, _Gourmet Hunters_ , what are we supposed to make?" mocked one of the men.

"Buhara."

"The required ingredient is pork."

"Pork?

"Any pig from Visca Forest will do. You must use the cooking facilities here to prepare the pork. And you only pass if we both find it delicious."

"And we will evaluate more than just on taste. Don't underestimate the intricacies of cooking, got it?" Menchi flatly added. "When we've both eaten our fill, the Second Phase is over. Go."

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

Finding pork was easy. It didn't require any effort to sniff out one of the massive pigs, nor chop off its head with a well timed fūton.

Miwa carried her pork over to her station, easily creating a few shadow clones to scour the forest for nearby seasonings, or ingredients. While the stations were prepped with staple ingredients, Miwa didn't want to skimp.

It was a cooking challenge—which she still thought was absurd—so it really wasn't something to be overthought. That being said, since it was such an easy victory it probably meant that a few of the other contestants would just cook the pork and call it done.

She sliced up the pork to help it cook faster, peeling off the skin to get to the meat. She added basic seasoning and then let it cook over the fire.

**Oh, no... Don't tell me you're making ramen.**

' _Who doesn't love ramen?'_

**But that's so** _**boring** _ **!**

She wasn't a true chef by any stretch of the imagination but being able to cook was something every functioning adult ought to know how to do.

' _Killua and Gon are only children, though,'_ she thought, looking over to see the two boys had just literally thrown the _entire_ pig on the fire to start cooking it.

"You can't do you that," she told them. "You can't—you can't just cook a whole pig."

"Why not?" Killua asked. "It's just cooking."

"She said it had to be delicious. Do _you_ want to eat that whole pig?"

Gon nodded. "Yeah!"

Killua shrugged. "Sure. It's just food."

Miwa opened her mouth to retort, but shook her head. "Okay..."

As they were cooking, the first contestant finished his pig. He proudly carried up the entire pig that was charred to hell and back.

Unsurprisingly the examiner refused to even eat it, failing him immediately.

' _He's an adult!'_ Miwa thought, aghast. ' _You can't—but this—this is basic common sense!'_

To Miwa's horror _every other contestant did the exact same thing._

Miwa finally finished her very basic pork ramen (something every functioning adult ought to know how to make) and brought it up.

" _Oh my God finally_!" the green haired woman took a bite out of the ramen and her face twisted. "It's not _bad_ , but it's _ramen_."

"Ramen is amazing," Miwa said.

"For children," Menchi muttered. "Ugh, I can only really say you're the only one that _tried_ but this is too plain. As a Gourmet Hunter I can't justify passing such a dull meal."

**I told you ramen was awful.**

' _Ramen is a gift of the gods, you heathen!'_

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

Eventually all the other contestants finished going. Buhara let out a contentful sigh, patting his huge stomach. "Ahh, I'm stuffed."

Despite having only taken two bites the entire competition Menchi sighed. "Yeah, me too." She stood up. "There, the competition is over. No one passes. We're done here."

This was, unsurprisingly, met with confusion and discontent.

**Bijū bomb time?**

' _Hush.'_

"Stop messing around!" shouted out a particularly angry contestant. The large man snarled out, "I absolutely refuse to accept this."

"In the end you've still failed," Menchi drawled out.

"Stop screwing around. You asked for pork so we risked our lives to—

"I said to prepare the pork in a manner that satisfied both our palates," she cut in sharply. "No one succeeded. You almost all did the same thing. No effort was made. Only two people broke out of the mold, but both turned out unsatisfying dishes. I'm positive none of you took cooking seriously!"

One of the contestants shrugged and said, "Pork dishes are trivial no matter who cooks it."

This instantly triggered Menchi and the examiner had rushed to grab hold of the contestant's collar, yanking him forward and snarling, "Say that again you piece of shit. Any more crap from you and I'll shove my arm up your ass and knock your teeth out! Don't you mess with me. I don't want any lip service from an amateur who can't even roast a pig."

With her lip curled back she abruptly threw him to the ground, and took a seat back on her couch. "In other words you people don't have the guts to try anything new."

"Shut up!" called out the first contestant. "I'm not trying to become a chef or a gourmet-whatever. I want to be a Hunter! My goal is to be a Black List Hunter. I refuse to have a Gourmet Hunter decide my fate."

"Too bad you got stuck with one, then," Menchi retorted uncaringly. "Better luck next year?"

The contestant turned red in the face and charged at Menchi, raising his fist and shouting, "Don't fuck with me!"

Buhara casually slapped the man away, launching him high into the air where he slammed into the white stone walls.

Menchi pursed her lips. "Buhara, that was unnecessary."

"But if I didn't you would have killed him," Buhara pointed out.

Menchi sighed. "Probably." She stood back up from the couch, casually pulling out and juggling six blades. "Let me be clear. Every Hunter knows how to fight. We take on jobs and quests that take us to perilous places where we have to put our lives on the line. Being a good fighter doesn't mean anything. You lack focus and the willingness to experiment. That alone disqualifies you from becoming Hunters."

' _All of this from_ cooking _?'_

"Even so," came a distorted voice, as if spoken from an intercom, "isn't it a little excessive to fail an entire pool of applicants?"

Miwa and the others looked above for the source of the voice, finding a blimp with the Hunter logo painted across. She could barely make out a small figure at the edge of one of the windows before it lept straight down, landing in front of Menchi and creating a small crater.

Immediately Miwa could smell sunflowers and sage. While she could not see the man yet—the dust cloud from the crater had not disappeared yet—she could sense his core.

It was the strongest one she had encountered since waking up. It burned with the intensity of the sun. It was disciplined like an elder monk, and well honed like a swordsman's prized weapon.

This man was not someone to take lightly.

 **Oh, he looks** _ **fun**_. **Go attack him**.

The amount of his energy—chakra?—was impressive. If Miwa had to relate it to her own, she would say the man had the same amount as her, without Kurama's mixed in.

' _I don't think this is someone I want to get on the bad side of_ ,' Miwa thought, her eyes narrowing as she noticed something odd inside of his core.

A sort of taint. It was hard to "see" it with how bright his core felt, but it was definitely there.

' _An injury? A poison?'_

Whatever it was, it required caution.

When the dust finally settled an elderly man dressed as a monk in white and blue robes walked toward Menchi. He had long, hanging ears, and the top of his head was mostly bald with the exception of a white pony tail. He had long white eyebrows, and a crooked beard.

"Who is that?" one of the contestants asked.

"The head of the Exam Commission, and he's in charge of the Hunter Exam... Chairman Netero."

"Well I work behind the scenes," Netero remarked, his voice weathered. "I only take action when there's an issue, like now. So, Menchi...did you find they lacked the will to challenge the unknown and that is why you failed them after your test?"

A pause from Menchi. "No. I lost my cool when one of the candidates insulted Gourmet Hunters and I made the test harder than necessary."

"In other words you're aware that your test was unacceptable?" Netero continued kindly.

"Yes. When cooking is involved, I lose control," Menchi said quietly. "I've failed as an examiner. I will resign, so please redo the Second Phase."

Netero nodded once. "Mn. But it would be difficult to find a replacement on such short notice. What about this? I'd like you to continue serving as an examiner, but you must also participate in the new test you propose. Is that acceptable? I'm certain that will help the applicants accept their results."

"All right. Then the new challenge will be...boiled eggs!" Menchi pointed up to the airship. "Chairman, can you take us to Split Mountain in your airship?"

"Split Mountain? I see, sounds fun."

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

A quick ride in the airship had all the contestants gathered atop a massive flat top mountain. The contestants were guided to the edge of a ravine—it split the mountain in half, which is where Miwa guessed the name _Split Mountain_ came from—where huge, thick webs lined the crevices. Miwa could see pockets of eggs the size of her head dangling from the webs.

' _Spiders?'_ She thought with disdain.

"A spider eagle's web. Look below the web and those are the eggs." Menchi then leapt off the edge, diving down to the web before grabbing on to one of the strands. She hung there for a moment before she let go, falling down into the ravine and grabbing one of the eggs.

Just as they lost sight of her in the fog below, a huge updraft of wind carried her all the way back up the cliff.

"Ooo!" Gon exclaimed, while his and Killua's eyes lit up with excitement.

"That looks fun!" Killua said with a grin.

"This ravine has updrafts that help newly hatched chicks fly up to the web."

Menchi landed gracefully, holding up her prized egg. "There. Now you just need to boil the egg."

"Y-You must be joking—"

Miwa stood at the edge of the cliff. Updraft didn't matter to her. She could run vertically back up the wall, use her fūton to carry her up, mark the top with hiraishin...

"—no sane person would jump—"

Without a worry, or care, she jumped off the edge at the same time Gon, Killua, Kurapika, and Leorio did so as well. Gon and Killua let out excited shouts doing so, loving the drop down. It made Miwa smile to see the two boys so genuinely happy.

' _So cute,'_ she thought.

While her companions took the opportunity to grab onto one of the webs, Miwa went ahead and dove past them to grab an egg. She then used _fūton: senpū_ to launch her all the way back up to the top.

' _If Gon and Killua fall I'll just teleport back down and grab them,'_ she thought as she landed.

The chairman _ooo'd_ upon her arrival, rubbing his chin. "An excellent use of nen."

' _Nen?'_

**Nen?**

' _Maybe that's what they call chakra?'_ Miwa guessed. She offered the chairman a small smile. "Thank you, sir."

"Who was your instructor if you don't mind me asking?" he inquired.

' _Uh...'_

**I was.**

' _You were?'_

**I taught you the importance of my power, which thusly makes me your greatest instructor.**

Miwa bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing at that. To the chairman, she admitted, "I don't remember my instructor anymore. I've lost almost all of my memories."

"Hmm."

The updraft carried up the contestants that had jumped, along with Gon, Killua, Leorio, and Kurapika. Menchi glanced over at the other contestants who had not jumped, snidely asking, "What about you? Giving up?"

"It takes courage to concede, too," Netero remarked.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

The boiled eggs tasted pretty good. Certainly better than typical eggs, but nothing _too_ special. Miwa personally thought ramen taste better, but whatever.

' _It'd make a good egg ramen dish,'_ she thought.

**Stop.**

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**BONUS TT!AU - In which Miwa, Killua, and Gon have traveled back to this point in time with all the knowledge / skills they possess.**

**Scenario A - In which only five remain.**

Menchi gaped when she had a bite of yet another amazing meal. "I—I can't fail any of you. Pass, pass, pass! All of you pass."

Gon, who had secretly prepared all five meals, grinned. "Neato."

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**Scenario B - In which the trio are well behaved up to this point.**

"Clearly only these five pass. The rest of you need a cooking class."

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Answer:** I think it'd be awesome to be reborn into a new world as Naruto's sibling.
> 
>  **Question:** What pork dish would you have prepared?
> 
> Reviews are **love**!


	5. Margay IV

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

After clearing the Second Phase, Miwa and the other contestants boarded the airship and soared throughout the starry sky toward the site of the Third Phase.

Netero stood before all the contestants at the helm of the ship, the night sky making a lovely backdrop behind him. He said with a smile, "Allow me to properly introduce myself to the forty-two remaining applicants. I am Netero, Chairman of the Selection Committee for this year's Hunter Exam."

Beside him spoke a tiny creature in a tuxedo with shiny green skin. "I am his assistant, Bean."

**That name suits him a little too well.**

' _He_ does _look like a living green bean, doesn't he?'_

Netero went on, "Originally I had planned to make my appearance during the Final Phase of the exam, but since I'm already here... I'll accompany you for a while and enjoy this nice edgy atmosphere."

' _Edgy?'_

**Supposed to be a life threatening competition, remember?**

' _Oh, yeah.'_

Killua yawned beside Miwa while Netero chuckled.

Bean said, "We are scheduled to arrive at our destination at 8 AM tomorrow morning. You'll find dinner waiting for you in the dining hall. You are also welcome to get some rest. Please feel free to do as you please until you are called."

"Alright!" Killua said, looking over at Gon and Miwa. "Gon, Miwa, let's go explore the airship."

"Heck yeah!" Gon said while Miwa nodded. Without another word Killua took the lead, with Gon and Miwa following right at his heels.

The airship was comprised of mostly pale gold walls, pale gold floors, and bright white lights. There were windows everywhere, giving the trio of friends a glimpse of the beautiful night outside.

"What should we look for first?" Miwa asked Killua, since he had taken the lead.

"Kitchen!" Gon declared.

"Kitchen!" Killua echoed, both boys exchanging fist bumps.

"Hmm... I think I smell food over here!" Miwa said, dashing forward to lead. Gon and Killua easily kept up with her, their childish joy making it hard for Miwa not to grin stupidly. Their footsteps pounded against the tiled floor, and they ducked down hallways before they reached the kitchen.

They were barely able to grab some freshly cooked turkey legs before the chefs noticed them and promptly threw them out, but the trio laughed all the way and off they went to explore some more.

They stopped in their running when the airship flew over a city, and Gon let out an exclamation of, "Wow! They're like jewels."

"Amazing," Killua breathed out, as he and Gon pressed their faces to the window. Miwa peered out beside them, looking down at the golden lights of the city below them.

"Hey... Miwa?"

"Mn?"

"Where are your parents?" Gon asked her.

"Dead," she answered, recalling that Gon said he lived with his aunt. His father had left him to become a Hunter, and he didn't know his mother. But they didn't know Killua's story, yet, so Miwa thought to ask him, "What about you, Killua?"

Killua frowned. "Hmm... they're alive. Probably."

"What do they do?" Gon inquired.

"They're assassins," Killua answered.

"Huh? Both of them?" Gon asked while Miwa said, "That's convenient."

Killua stared at both of them before he burst out into laughter. "That's how you two react? You're both really a riot. You two are the first who's ever responded seriously like that."

"But you're telling the truth," Gon said with a blink.

' _Wait is that not normal? Why does it feel normal to have assassin parents?'_

 **Everyone in your family was some kind of assassin,** Kurama helpfully supplied.

Killua took a seat at a nearby bench, placing his head in his hands as he looked at Gon. "What makes you think that?"

"A hunch," Gon said truthfully.

Killua clicked his tongue, looking away. "That's surprising. Part of my charm is never letting on if I'm serious or not."

"Why do you need charm?" Miwa felt the need to ask.

Killua just winked playfully at her before he looked back out at the window. "I'm from a family of assassins. They're all assassins. And my family has really high hopes for me, but I can't stand it. Who wants to have their life planned out for them?" Killua grimaced, his voice tinged with irritation. "When I told them I wanted to decide my own future, they all flipped out. My mother had tears streaming down her face as she told me I have potential to be top assassin."

The way he complained about that made Miwa and Gon giggle, and Killua rolled his eyes.

"What horrible parents, right? It's only natural their kid would go bad. We ended up fighting, so I slashed my mother in the face, stabbed my brother in the side, and ran away from home." Killua's face transformed into self pride, a smirk twisting his lips up. "I bet they're all in scrambles, but if they find me, I'll send them packing."

Then his eyes sparkled with mocking glee and he went on to say, "When I become a Hunter, I'll start by capturing my family. I'm sure they're worth some hefty bounties."

**I like this kid.**

"That sounds like fun," Miwa said, swinging her legs out as she took a seat on the bench beside Killua. "Are they strong?"

"Meh."

A whiff of sunflower and sage drew Miwa's attention behind and to the left, just as Gon and Killua both sharply turned in that direction.

To their surprise, no one was there, and the sunflower and sage instead now came from the right.

"Is something wrong?" Netero inquired, approaching the trio from the right.

' _Did he teleport, or did he just move that fast?'_

Gon pointed to where Netero had previously ben, asking Netero, "Mr. Netero, did you see anyone coming from that side?"

"No," he lied.

"You're pretty fast for an old man," Killua remarked, his gaze narrowed as he assessed Netero.

"Eh? That little trick? I barely moved." Netero grinned.

For some reason this irritated Killua. The iris-smelling boy's posture straightened, and he took a subtle offensive stance. Flatly, he asked, "What do you want? You don't have to do anything until the Final Phase, right?"

"No need to be so unkind. I got bored and was looking for some companions," the sunflower man said. "By the way, I meant to ask the three of you... any thoughts on your first attempt at the Hunter Examination?"

"Uh-huh! It's fun. There haven't been any written exams, which I was dreading," Gon said cheerfully.

"It's—"

**Dull. Boring. A waste of time.**

"—um, fine," Miwa settled on.

Killua, however, did not care to spare feelings. Continuing in a flat voice he bluntly stated, "I'm disappointed. I expected the exam to be far more difficult. I hope the next phase will be more entertaining."

Netero casually glanced around, in an uncaring tone he sung out, "Well, now, I wouldn't know about that."

Killua's lips curled back briefly in a moment of disgust before he turned away. "Let's go, Gon, Miwa."

"Now hold on," Netero said, causing Killua to pause. "Would you care to play a game with me?"

"Game?" Gon repeated, immediately interested like a puppy finding a treat.

"If you're able to defeat me, I shall let you be Hunters," Netero offered.

That hooked Gon in and he exclaimed, "Heck yeah I'm in!"

Killua slowly turned back around, glaring suspiciously at Netero.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

Netero had lead them to a small, empty gym. It had tall walls, no windows, and plenty of lighting. He discarded his overshirt and shoes, placing them off to the side. He kept his black undershirt and white pants on, though.

"Now then I'll go over the rules," Netero said, dribbling a red and yellow ball Miwa had no idea where he pulled out from. "If you can take this ball away from me before the airship reaches its destination, you win. I believe we're scheduled for an 8 AM arrival? Well," Netero glanced at the clock on the wall of the gym, "that still gives you nine hours. You're free to attack me however you'd like. I won't touch you."

"Eh? That's too easy, you can't call that a game," Gon said.

' _Wrong. Error. Incorrect,'_ Miwa thought, eyeing Netero's ridiculously large core.

"Why not give it a try first?" Netero insisted.

"We just have to take the ball?" Killua clarified.

"Mm-hmm."

"While I'm very grateful for the offer I'll have to pass," Miwa said, moving to take a seat off the side.

"What?! How come?" Gon exclaimed, surprised.

"I don't think I can restrain myself enough not to severely damage the airship," Miwa honestly answered. "All of my attacks are pretty massive, and judging by his core this guy isn't someone I could hold back against."

"I would definitely appreciate it if you _didn't_ blow up my ship," the old man laughed heartily. "Very well, then, are you two still game?"

Killua took the first step forward. "Then I'll go first."

What happened over the next couple hours could only be described as hilariously one sided. The moment Killua and Gon got close to grabbing the ball Netero got a smidgeon serious and practically bitch-slapped them back down.

This infuriated Killua, a surge of killer intent sparking out of him before he managed to squash it back down again. Meanwhile, this seemed to delight Gon, the boy finding the game genuinely fun.

Killua abruptly got back up, snapping out, "I'm done. I give up."

"Ehh?" Gon looked over at him. "How come, we still get a few hours left."

"Are you stupid? We're never getting that ball. He's barely even used his right hand and left leg. It's a waste of time and effort to continue."

"Hmm..."

"Let's go, Gon, Miwa."

"Still, I think I'll stay," Gon decided.

"Ehh? Did you not hear me?"

"But I'm having fun," Gon explained with a smile. "I know I may not get the ball, but... I'm going to try and make Mr. Netero use his right hand."

"Hmph. Whatever. I'm going to get some sleep," Killua said, and Miwa stood up from where she sat.

"Mn, I think I'll go with you..." Miwa glanced over at Netero and smiled. "When the exam is over mind if I play that game with you?"

"Sure, sure," Netero said good naturedly.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

Bits of bloodlust and killing intent spiked from Killua as he walked down the hallway. He had removed both of his shirts, trying to cool off. There was a dark glimmer in his eyes, a plain urge to _hurt_ someone.

Miwa walked slightly behind him, yawning.

As she yawned, however, two men bumped into Killua.

Killua didn't pause, though, continuing on with his foul mood. Miwa moved to catch up to him, though, since she had slowed down when she had yawned.

"Oi, kid," growled out one of men. "You bump into us without saying sorry?"

Killua and Miwa ignored him, continuing forward.

"Oi!" the second one snarled out, and then both rushed to children.

Unfortunately for them Killua had apparently reached his breaking point. Without hesitation he abruptly ripped out their hearts with his right hand, moving so quickly that the blood didn't even have time to spurt out on him.

The two idiots fell over, dead.

**I really,** _**really** _ **like this kid. I bet he'd be okay to let out some bombs.**

' _You have a problem.'_

**Yeah. It's called** _**boredom** _ **. It's the single worst form of torture known to history.**

' _Not blowing up cities does not mean you're being tortured!'_

**Yes it does!**

Miwa stared down at the corpses in the middle of the hallway, sighing.

Killua then seemed to remember that she was there, and he turned to look at her with narrowed eyes. If he was focusing any murderous intent on her, she didn't notice.

Instead, she took out one of her spare storage scrolls and looked down at it.

' _Damn. I was hoping to fill this with water, not stupid humans. Oh well.'_

"It's just bad manners to leave bodies lying around," Miwa scolded him, placing both corpses in the empty storage scroll.

The instant Killua saw the bodies get sucked in, his anger disappeared and was replaced with childish wonder. "How did you do that? What is that? Is that like teleporting?"

Miwa handed him the small storage scroll, and he immediately took to examining it, He unrolled it, surprised to find the _fūinjutsu_ seals drawn over it. "What language is this? How does it work?"

"It's called a storage scroll." Miwa tapped the center of the fūinjutsu circle. "That acts as a sort of doorway to a small pocket dimension of space."

" _A what?!_ " Killua yelped, eyes shining. "Did you make this?"

"Yeah," Miwa said, nodding. "You wanna learn how?"

"Can you show me?" Killua eagerly asked.

"I think I can," Miwa said, rubbing her chin. "You have... _something_ in you. But before we get to that, you have to learn the language of _fūinjutsu_ which might take a while. It's hard work, so don't come into it thinking you'll get it easily."

Killua scoffed. "How hard can it be?"

Miwa shrugged. "Okay. I'll see if I can put together a small guide for you."

"Thanks... so... how do you get the bodies out?"

"I'll show you when we're somewhere safe to _dispose_ of corpses."

"I guess that's a good call."

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**BONUS TT!AU - In which Miwa, Killua, and Gon have traveled back to this point in time with all the knowledge / skills they possess.**

**Scenario A - Only five left.**

Netero laid on his back, his head spinning as Gon and Killua sat on him.

"So... we pass?" Gon asked.

"Heck yeah you do," Netero laughed, causing Killua and Gon to exchange grins.

"This really was too easy," Miwa commented.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Answer** : Pork ramen, obviously.
> 
>  **Question** : What's a game you enjoy to play?
> 
> Reviews are **love**!


	6. Margay V

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

_Ding-ding-ding_.

"I apologize for the delay, everyone. The airship will soon arrive at its destination."

Miwa rubbed at her eyes, and Killua slowly lifted his head off her shoulders, yawning. They had been sharing body heat, and their blanket, for the past few hours. The airship wasn't terribly cold, but it had enough of a chill for the two children to huddle together.

Miwa rolled her shoulder where Killua had been sleeping on it. She mumbled a small _good morning_ and he returned it.

It didn't take too much time for the participants of the exam to be shuffled off the airship and onto the stage of the Third Phase.

The airship had docked itself on a ridiculously tall brown-stoned tower that stood dead center in a forest near the ocean. It was high enough that there was a constant stream of wind, blowing everyone's hair about and making Miwa firmly believe this would be a great place to parachute from.

Bean cleared his throat. "Everyone, the Third Phase of the exam will begin here, at the top of Trick Tower. To pass this phase, you must reach the tower's base alive. The time limit is seventy two hours. With that, the Third Phase will now begin. I wish you all luck."

' _I don't think we're supposed to just jump off, or use chakra to walk straight down?'_ Miwa guessed.

No one else had a way of walking down, anyway, so that must mean...

' _There's got to be a door or something to get_ inside _the tower then stairs to go down,'_ Miwa concluded, grabbing Gon and Killua's hands. She pulled them over to her and explained what they were looking for.

"A hidden door that leads below?" Gon saluted. "Got it, let's look around."

As Killua and Gon began to tap around, the other contestants followed suit. Eventually they were able to find about five trap doors all close to one another.

"It looks like there's only room for about one person to go down each door," Killua observed, tapping on one of the doors. He looked up a Gon. "Since there's so many, at least one of them is bound to be a trap."

**God, I hope so. Make this a teeny-tiny bit more interesting. I hope you get the trap door.**

Miwa thought she'd be able to handle the trap door a bit better than her new friends, so she hoped so too. She smiled at them. "Only one way to find out, though."

"No hard feelings for those who don't get the trap, then?" Gon offered.

"'Course not," Killua dismissed.

"There's still two more doors, though... I'll go get Kurapika and Leorio," Gon said, hurrying away. By the time Gon had returned with Kurapika and Leorio, he had also already explained the trap doors to them.

"I see," Kurapika remarked. "Then this might mean a temporary farewell. I'm sure I'll see you all at the bottom of the tower, though."

"Yep!" Gon nodded firmly. "Let's all hop down one of the doors now."

They five of them then stood by the trap doors, said some dramatic farewells, and hopped on the doors.

Miwa stepped on her trap door, and down she slid into darkness. The fall was only about ten feet, and she landed lightly in an all stone room... with the four others who had come down with her.

"That was a short goodbye," Killua dryly remarked, shoving his hands in the pockets of his black shorts.

**LAME.**

Gon immediately noticed an odd pedestal set off to the side. On it were five wristbands, and a sign posted above it.

"The five who drop into this chamber must find their way down together by majority rule," Gon read from the odd language.

**You haven't learned to read this world's language, yet?**

' _I'm working on it.'_

As the group converged around the pedestal Gon pointed out the wristbands. "Look, they're stop watches."

Sure enough upon closer inspection Miwa could see a timer counting down from 72 hours. They were currently at 71 hours, 30 minutes, and 22 seconds. There were only two buttons on it, a red O, and a blue X.

"So...what do these mean?" Leorio asked.

"Take a look at the door on your left!" came a voice over the intercom. All eyes glanced over to the door that only just appeared. "This is a group game, and you use those watches to vote."

Gon read from the sign posted above the door, "To open this door, select O to open, X to not open. This is a game of majority rule. Good luck!"

Miwa immediately pressed O, with her teammates following suit. The door swung open without issue and the five of them stepped out into a red stoned room. They were immediately presented with another sign that Gon read from. "Which way do you want to go? O to the right, X to the left."

A glance to either side showed only long stretches of redbricked hallways blocked by iron gates.

' _You go left in mazes when you're lost, right?'_

**Go right. I bet the more violent stuff is on the right.**

' _Okay,'_ Miwa agreed easily, hitting O.

The sign lit up with 4 votes to go right, and 1 left.

Leorio gaped. "Why would you all vote right?!"

"Because going left would be too boring," Miwa answered, with Gon and Killua nodding along in agreement.

"Left would be too obvious, I thought it would be better to try and outwit the examiner by going right," Kurapika explained, giving the three youngest an odd look. "Not because I thought it would be more interesting."

The gate to the right opened up and the group headed down the dimly lit hall. They turned another corner before they reached another odd room.

It was round in shape, with the path in front of them abruptly cutting off. There was a square arena structure in the very center of this dead drop, with four torches lit on each corner. On the opposite end of the room, past the arena, was the hallway. Miwa could smell some unhygienic humans down that way, making her nose wrinkle in disgust.

Miwa narrowed her eyes as she tried to pick out the gross-smelling figures across the room. They were dressed in tattered brown cloaks with their hoods pulled up, but when Miwa's group entered the room one of them pulled off his hood to reveal a bald, scarred head.

"Well then, allow me to explain," came the examiner's voice over the intercom. "Before you are a few of Trick Tower's prisoners. The Hunter Exam Committee has officially hired them as examiners. You will be fighting against the five of them. The fights will be 1v1, and each person may only fight once. You can fight any way you like, there will be no draws. A win is declared when the opponent admits defeat."

The bald prisoner across the room drawled out, "Decide for yourselves which order you will go in. If your side has a majority of victories—three—you may pass. The rules are simple."

"Heh," the voice of the intercom scoffed. "For every hour these prisoners delay you is one year less they have to spend in prison. So their goal is to buy time."

"And since we only have 72 hours to reach the bottom," Kurapika trailed off.

"Decide the order now," the bald man ordered.

"I'm going first," Miwa declared, raising her chin up and taking a step forward.

"Eh?" Gon tilted his head. "No fair, I wanna go."

"Too bad, I called it first," Miwa said, and two bridges pushed out on either side of the room to connect to the arena. She crossed the bridge, and the prisoner followed suit.

"Now to determine the match... I propose a death match," the bald man said with a cocky grin.

Kurama started to laugh.

"I really will kill you," Miwa warned. "But if you're still willing to continue... I accept your suicide."

"Ahahaha! I commend you for your confidence." The man adjusted his stance.

She shrugged and abruptly spit out a low powered _fūton: dangan_. The wind bullet traveled quickly through the air, splitting the man's head open and continuing to collide into the stone wall with a massive impact. The whole room trembled, and the cracks crawled dozens of meters tall in several directions.

' _Oops,'_ Miwa thought uncaringly as the body fell over, dead. "Uh.. do I kick his body off the edge, now?"

"You're teaching me that, too," Killua immediately told her.

"Wha—I want to learn, too!" Gon cried out.

"If you can," Miwa said with a shrug. She was curious if they would be able to use that chakra-like core inside of them. If they could, then they might be able to use techniques like ninjutsu.

' _I wonder what their elements would be?'_ She wondered.

She stared at the body for another moment before she looked up at the intercom. "Seriously what do I do with the body? It's rude to just leave it laying there. Do you know how many monsters this could feed?"

"Just throw it over the edge," came the amused voice over the intercom.

Miwa kicked it off before walking back over to her friends, twirling her hair in a bored manner. "So who's going next?"

"Me, me!" Gon excitedly said, already sprinting across the bridge. "I want a death match, too!" He skidded to a halt halfway over, though, turned back around and handed Miwa his backpack and fishing rod. He then headed over to the arena, a skip in his step.

The prisoner Gon currently faced was all skin and bones with a greasy mop of brown hair, and tired eyes. He offered a fake smile to Gon. "As you can see, I'm not very strong. I don't really enjoy fighting, or physical altercations. I prefer to think, rather than fight."

"Hmm... I like fighting, but I hate using my head," Gon admitted with a frown.

"I figured," the prisoner said. "So I came up with a simple game we could both play. One that doesn't rely on mental or physical activity." He pulled out two identical white candles. "We each light a candle and the one whose candle goes out first is the loser."

"That's easy to understand, let's go with that." Gon held up his thumb.

"Now which one will you use? Press O for the long one, and X for the short one."

' _What does it matter? The prisoner didn't list any rules saying Gon couldn't kill him and blow out his candle.'_

After some deliberation, Gon decided to go with the longer one. The prisoner casually tossed it over to Gon and at the same time both moved over to one of the torches and lit the candles. Since there was a bit of an updraft coming from below the flames on the candles wavered a couple times.

"How long does it take for those candles to burn?" Leorio asked, his voice subdued.

"Five... six hours?" Kurapika guessed.

**Ugh. Try manipulating the wind to blow out the candle.**

' _Isn't that cheating?'_

**Don't get caught then, idiot.**

Manipulating wind wasn't something Miwa had a lot of practice in, though, unless it was wind she had conjured through _fūton_. She scratched her cheek as she considered how to do so, but before she could even make an attempt Gon's candle began to rapidly burn up.

Gon let out a startled shout, panicking at the massive flame. "Ah!"

"His candle will burn out in only two minutes if this keeps up!" Kurapia exclaimed, worried.

The prisoner wore a pretty smug smile, and Gon stared at his rapidly burning candle for another few seconds before he put on a huge grin. Gon set down his candle, turned on his heel, and sprinted to the prisoner.

He moved with such speed ordinary folk—like that prisoner—couldn't track him, and in between one second and the next Gon had reached the prisoner and blew out his candle.

"Ta-da! I win," Gon declared proudly.

The prisoner spluttered, and the bridges reconnected once again to allow Gon to pass back over. He held up two peace signs as he did so, "Easy-peezy."

"All of this has been ridiculously easy," Killua sighed.

Miwa nodded her head in agreement, letting out a sigh of her own. "Hopefully the next Phase will be a bit more interesting."

"Aw, come on guys," Gon tried to cheer them up. "We still have a whole tower to climb down. There might be some dangerous situations up ahead."

"You think?" Killua and Miwa asked hopefully.

"Sure," Gon said, patting them on the shoulder.

Kurapika cleared his throat. "Returning to the _current_ obstacle... I will go next."

"Have fun," Miwa and Gon chorused as Kurapika crossed the bridge.

The next prisoner they faced was...frankly very ugly. He was muscular, had dark blue skin, nineteen hot pink heart tattooed over his chest, and one messed up face. He reeked of something so sour it almost made Miwa gag, and his core was laughably small.

"Heh-heh-heh," the prisoner laughed, puffing out his chest and pointing to his hot-pink tattoos. "You see these? Nineteen. That's how many people I've killed. But that's such an odd number, so I'm glad I'll get to twenty today!"

"Yes, yes," Kurapika dismissed. "What's your match?"

"A death match!"

"Fine," Kurapika sighed, discarding his overshirt for better maneuverability.

His dismissive nature seemed to catch the prisoner off guard because the blue man spluttered. "U-Uh...wait! I forgot to mention no weapons allowed."

"Fine," Kurapika agreed, discarding a couple of hidden nunchucks. "Anything else?"

The prisoner seemed confused by Kurapika disinterest. The blue man then puffed up his cheeks, and launched himself high into the air. He slammed his right fist down hard enough on the ground that it created a small crater, and blew back bits and pieces of debris.

As he removed his hand from the crater, he showed off his bare back.

There, on his back, was a black spider tattoo with twelve legs.

' _Ew.'_

For some reason this caused Kurapika face to drain of color, while Leorio gasped in horror. "No..."

' _No...?'_

"What?" Miwa asked with a frown.

"That tattoo... only members of the cruelest thieves, the Phantom Troupe, have them," Leorio explained. "Those bastards are responsible for murdering Kurapika entire clan."

**Oh, SAGE, not again. Don't tell me—** _**are his eyes seriously turning red?!** _

' _Yes,'_ Miwa confirmed as Kurapika once ash-colored eyes lit up with a vibrant scarlet red.

**UGGHHHH. Don't tell me people obsess over his eyes, too.**

"His whole clan was killed for their eyes," Leorio finished.

**UGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.**

The sheer agony of Kurama's moan made Miwa want to giggle, but she didn't dare. While Kurama began to bemoan the cruelness of fate and _Sage-Damned Uchihas_ , Miwa tried to keep her face neutral and Kurapika steadily grew more enraged.

Eventually the blond boy snapped and he abruptly flipped the prisoner over and punched him so hard, Miwa could distinctly hear the bones snap under the weight.

The prisoner obviously did not get back up after that blow.

"First," Kurapika snarled out quietly, his voice barely even, "the Phantom Troupe tattoos have a number on the body of the spider. Second, they don't bother keeping count of how many they've killed. And third, _do not ever mention them again._ "

The bridges reconnected again, and Kurapika gathered up his discarded things.

"Ah-ah!" Miwa scolded when Kurapika moved to cross back over the bridge. "Kick the body off the arena floor, mister! It's just flat out rude to the janitors of the world to leave a body lying around."

"Oh," Kurapika quietly murmured, before he nodded. "Yes, you're right..."

Kurapika promptly shoved the body off edge before he crossed back over the bridge, pulling his overshirt back on. He was clearly still distressed over being reminded about his dead family and whatnot.

Miwa didn't know how to offer him comfort, though. She couldn't say she was ever in a similar situation as him, and simply giving him empty condolences seemed rude. If she were close to him she might offer him a cup of ramen, but she wasn't so she didn't.

With Kurapika's round concluded the team of five could advance. A new bridge formed on the right side of the arena, and they were able to proceed.

Unfortunately the rest of the tower was painfully dull.

Oh sure there were some traps tossed here and there, a few pitfalls, dead-ends, and so forth but nothing genuinely dangerous. Killua and Miwa were so bored they started to actively look for rooms that seemed potentially lethal.

They didn't end up finding a single one, but damn did they try.

The group of five eventually made it to the bottom, and the examiner over the intercom announced their arrival at 17 hours, thirty minutes, and fifteen seconds.

And now they had to wait for the rest of the 72 hours for the other contestants.

If boredom didn't strangle them first.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

I did a lot of thinking about Kurapika in this chapter. He's crazy reluctant to kill, but I've seen nothing to prove he would _know_ when he's killed while that enraged. He clearly lacks the experience. After rewatching this part a few times I think that Kurapika genuinely thought he had killed his opponent, and didn't know he was alive until after the other prisoner claimed he was.

Since it was shown in the first match what to do with dead bodies, he had no reason not to follow suit if he thought he had already killed the fella. At least I can't think of a logical reason for him to do so.

Even in the event that Kurapika knew he didn't kill him, I present to you this alternate scenario that would ultimately lead the same:

"I'm not fighting someone who can't fight back," Kurapika muttered, and while Leorio tried to argue with him, Miwa stepped over to the edge of the platform.

She took a deep breath, then "accidentally" sneezed out some raw fūton chakra to push the body off the edge, effectively killing him.

She rubbed her nose. "Oops."

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**BONUS TT!AU - In which Miwa, Killua, and Gon have traveled back to this point in time with all the knowledge / skills they possess.**

"Let's see what reaches the bottom of the tower faster: Miwa's _hiraishin_ dagger, or Gon destroying the tower straight down," Killua brightly suggested.

"Pfft. Obviously _hiraishin_ ," Miwa taunted, causing Gon to give her a splitting grin.

"That's a challenge I'll gladly rise to," Gon agreed, gathering up his nen.

It was a tie.

Although the examiners weren't very happy that Gon destroyed the tower.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Answer:** Dragon Age/Mass Effect are tied.
> 
>  **Question:** What reality TV show would you want to be apart of? Sitcoms are also acceptable.
> 
> Reviews are **love**!


	7. Margay VI

p data-p-id="7168f649a26b44fffeb306d6993d4065"> **(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

"Ladies and gentlemen, congratulations on escaping Trick Tower," spoke a short man with a pink spiky mohawk. It wasn't difficult to recognize the man was the proctor who had talked with them over the intercom and had watched everything that went on in the tower.

After the 72 hour mark a door at the bottom of the tower opened up and the contestants stepped out onto a beach where the man had been waiting for them.

"Only the Fourth and Final Phase remain," the man went on. He jerked his thumb behind him, over the glistening blue waters of the ocean to point at a tiny island in the distance. "The Fourth Phase will take place over there, on Zevil Island. Let's proceed."

He snapped his fingers and an unimportant helper exited the tower, pushing along a small cart. Resting atop that cart was a black and blue box with a square cut out on top.

' _A ballot?'_

"I need all of you to draw lots," the man said. "To determine who will hunt and who will be hunted. There are twenty-eight numbered cards in here. In other words, the numbers correspond to all remaining applicant's ID numbers. Now, I need each of you to draw a card in the order you left the tower. Will the first person step forward?"

The joker-like man stepped forward calmly, reaching into the box and pulling out a blank white card.

Then one by one the other contestants stepped forward to take their cards, Miwa included.

"Has everyone taken a card?" the examiner asked after the last contestant took a card. "Then go ahead and remove the sticker."

Miwa pulled back the sticker over the white card revealing the number 11.

"That indicates your target."

While the other contestants immediately covered their numbers, Miwa didn't bother. She left her 13 alone, uncaring who went after her. It might finally make things interesting.

The examiner patted the box. "The box has recorded which card each of you drew. That means you're free to dispose of the cards if you wish. The objective is to steal your target's ID badge."

"Oh, so we don't need to kill each other," one of the contestants said, sounding relieved.

**Pussy.**

"Naturally you're free to use any method you choose to procure the ID badges. That includes killing your target and taking the badge off their body. Listen carefully. Your target's ID badge is worth 3 points. Your ID badge is worth three points. All other ID badges are worth 1 point. You need 6 points to advance to the Final Phase. You must gather enough ID badges to total of 6 points. That is all."

After that explanation, the contestants were guided on to a ship to take them to the island. They would be forced to remain on the island for at least a week before the ship would return to pick them up.

The ship was decently sized, almost all wood, and to be honest, it looked like it wouldn't be able to survive a B-ranked jutsu.

Miwa took a seat beside Killua, and Gon sat down next to her. She leaned back on the railings of the ship, breathing in the salty taste of the sea.

"What number did you draw?" Killua asked.

"11," answered Miwa immediately, glancing down at her black cargo pants to see if there were any tears that needed attention. Unsurprisingly, there weren't. "Did either of you get my 13?"

"I didn't get 13," Killua said, shaking his head, his white curls bouncing from the motion.

Gon also shook his head. "No..."

Killua held out the card he drew. "I got 110."

Gon winced and pulled out his. "44."

"Who's 110?" Miwa asked.

"No clue," Killua admitted, grimacing as he looked at Gon's. "You got Hisoka?"

"Yeah," Gon sighed, his shoulders slumping.

"Want me to kill him for you?" Miwa offered idly, starting to pick out the dried mud from her black military boots. She frowned when she picked out a piece of human bone—she could tell by the dull smell—before she threw it back over the side of the boat. Killua watched the bone piece go over before he immediately started checking his shoes from any bits of human remains.

Gon shook his head, pulling off his shoes to examine them. "No way. If I can't do this on my own... I don't really deserve to be a Hunter, do I?"

Miwa only shrugged in response, finding another bone piece. "I'll grab some random cards and set up camp near some freshwater. You're both welcome to come find me afterward, or if you need any help."

"You got camping supplies?" Killua asked, surprised, then his eyes widened even more so. "You've got more of those scrolls, don't you? How much can they fit?"

"A lot," Miwa answered, looking over to see Killua flick off a bone piece he had stuck to his shoes. "I got camping gear."

"Eh? How?" Gon asked, looking Miwa over.

"Storage scrolls," Miwa told him. "Come find me on the island and I'll show ya, okay?"

"Okay!"

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

Upon reaching the island the contestants were let off one by one in the order they completed the tower. Once Miwa was let off she did a quick run around the island to examine it—which barely took a couple of minutes—before she found a good camping spot.

After that, it didn't take ten minutes to track down three different contestants, snap their necks, and collect their badges. Miwa ripped apart their flesh to make it easier for the scavengers to feast, and then decided she'd get to work on setting up a camp.

None of the other contestants worried her, so she wasn't going to bother doing something as silly as hiding.

Nope. She found a decent-sized lake on the island, pulled out her stolen camping supplies from her storage scroll, and set to work. She pitched her tent, rolled out her sleeping bag, blankets, and then gathered up the necessary supplies to start a campfire.

It only took a couple of minutes to grab some fish, and while the fire was getting started she quickly skinned and gutted them.

' _Yum,'_ Miwa thought, dumping the unnecessary guts off to the side. She sent off a few shadow clones to forage the forest of the island. She set up her cooking rack and pot over the fire, and placed the fish inside to cook, along with some basic seasoning.

' _Life without storage scrolls is a life I don't want to know about,'_ she decided.

While the fish was cooking, Miwa laid back in the cool grass and stared up at the pretty blue sky. She supposed now would be a good time to pull out those children's books she stole and try to learn the written language of this world, but she wasn't feeling ready to do so just yet.

A cool breeze blew over the lake, carrying with it the smell of freshwater and grass. Miwa took a deep breath in, letting it out slowly as she felt herself relax.

**You should use bijū bomb on the island.**

' _Kurama!'_

**What?**

' _I like Killua and Gon. I don't want to accidentally kill them.'_

**Oh, sure, accidentally kill some people, just not ones you like? Feh.**

' _Don't_ feh _me. You'd do the same if it was me!'_

**Lies.**

' _I see through your denial, you tsundere.'_

**HORRIBLE LIES.**

Miwa giggled, stretching out in the grass. ' _I suppose now would be a good time to... to look at the seal?'_

 **If you can find it,** Kurama said. **I haven't been able to see it since we... came here.**

' _But you're with me? I don't remember everything, but I do remember the only thing that's keeping you here with me is that seal. It's supposed to be the bridge between our minds, so both of us should be able to see it in our mindscape.'_

 _ **Should**_ **be able to, yes,** Kurama answered in a frustrated tone. **Yet it's nowhere to be seen. Come here.**

Miwa could feel the gentle tug of Kurama's chakra in the back of her mind. She had not visited her dear, dear, friend since coming to this world but the trip there was not something she could forget. She felt her mind slip away, following the guiding warmth of Kurama's chakra like a lantern in the night.

In between one heartbeat and the next she found herself in their shared mindscape. Her avatar reflected that of her physical, but its outfit was replaced with a comfortable white nightdress and fox patterned pajama pants.

Kurama remained in his ever-impressive true form: a huge chakra monster resembling that of a fox.

The proportions were wrong for a true fox, but there was no denying that he resembled one.

He flicked his ears towards her and stretched out a massive clawed hand for her to step into. Without hesitation, Miwa climbed into his palm, grabbing onto his thumb—it was bigger than she was—and using it to keep herself balanced as he carried her to the top of his head.

Atop Kurama's head, Miwa could see the mindscape Kurama had shaped. She knew he was basing it off their shared memories, and bits of it seemed familiar to her. It was a wide valley covered in delightfully smelling flowers and dotted with crystal clear pounds that reflected the pretty blue sky. As gentle winds blew through this valley, it carried scents that Miwa could practically taste on the tip of her tongue.

They were painfully familiar, yet she could not name who they belonged to.

" **Can you feel the chakra from the seal?** " Kurama asked her.

Miwa was surprised that she couldn't. It should be obvious while they were inside the mindscape.

"No," she admitted. "That's definitely... odd."

" **It's more than odd, it's eerie,** " Kurama muttered, swinging his head to the right. " **I can still change the mindscape as if I was accessing the seal, but it's by sheer will instead of using the seal.** "

To demonstrate, the world around them was abruptly thrown deep into the water. They rested at the bottom of the ocean, fish and bubbles swimming around them. In the distance, they could see gorgeous, and vividly colored coral reefs that housed thousands of unique plants.

The memory was only that—a memory—so both could breathe fine. The water felt like cool mist against their skin/fur, but nothing unpleasant.

"Oh my," Miwa let out, now trying to will the environment change for herself.

She succeeded in recreating the clearing she was first found in when she came to this world.

" **Something's not right here,** " Kurama admitted. " **And it... it doesn't sit well with me.** "

Miwa scratched her cheek as she considered the problem. "There's always an answer, Kurama. Let's think this over for a while and come back to it. You might have amnesia, too."

Kurama paused at that, his tails flicking. " **Hmm... I suppose that's true. Okay. We'll think this over for now.** "

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

The first day and night on the island slipped by in comfortable ease. No one came to bother Miwa, and she spent her time sharpening her weapons, making more scrolls, and practicing reading the language of this new world.

She would have been fine to spend the rest of the week in isolation, but she wasn't going to turn down the company.

Especially since it happened to be one of her new friends.

Killua hopped into her camp the second day into the exam with a grin and a wave. "Hey, Miwa. Got your marks?"

"Three of 'em at least," she answered. "Wanna camp with me?"

"Sure," Killua responded, looking around at her camp. "Man, did you fit all of this in one scroll?"

"Yep," she answered smugly, puffing up her chest proudly.

Killua nodded to the book in her lap as he took a seat beside her on the grass. "Is that about it?"

"Huh? Oh... um, no. It's a children's book from the city the start of the exam took place in. I'm, um, learning how to read."

"You... you don't know how to read?" Killua whispered this in disbelief, his eyes filled with mocking pity.

Miwa felt her cheeks burn, and she flushed with embarrassment. "I-I know how to read _my_ language."

"You mean, what'd you call it? Fooey-jutsu?"

" _Fūinjutsu_ ," Miwa corrected with a snap.

Killua held up his hands in a gesture of surrender, but there was still a glint of teasing mockery in his eyes. "Is that all?"

"I know kanji," she said, "but there is no kanji here."

"Where did you come from?" Killua asked, tilting his head. "I've never heard of these languages before."

A strong breeze blew through the campsite, picking up the sweet scent of the forest and rippling the water across the river. Miwa's flustered state cooled as she considered how to answer his question.

She had no memories of before—nothing concrete, at least. What she had were flashes, brief moments of intense anger and fear. She knew who Kurama was, but aside from that—

"I don't know," she admitted with a whisper. Her sky-blue eyes glanced away, a small frown tugging her lips down. "I don't remember."

Something about her tone made Killua frown. He leaned toward her, his own pale blue eyes assessing her. "Nothing?"

"Not really," she admitted. "I know... skills, I suppose. The only personal memories I have are of Kurama."

"Kurama?"

"Yes," Miwa said slowly, drawing out the word as she considered how to explain him. She fiddled with her bangs, as she thought before she finally said, "I honestly don't know how to explain him."

Killua sat back at that with a _huh_. "Is he family?"

"Yes?"

"Is he your dad?"

"He's not related by blood," Miwa said. "But I love him like family."

"Is he dead?"

**Many people wish.**

"No," Miwa answered.

"Do you know how to get in touch with him?"

"Yes."

"Then why don't you just ask him?" Killua suggested.

**Because I don't want you to know. I want you to experience life** _**without** _ **baggage.**

"Because he won't tell me," Miwa said. "He doesn't want me to know. I guess I have _baggage_."

"Everyone has baggage," Killua dismissed. He leaned back, placing his palms behind him as he looked up at the pretty sky. "And you can't make him?"

"He's definitely stronger than me," Miwa confidently said.

"Then you'll just have to get stronger," Killua concluded before he grinned cheekily. "And learn how to read."

Miwa flushed. "I-I _am_ learning!"

"Clearly not fast enough," Killua taunted, eyes sparkling with mirth. "You teach me that fooey stuff _and_ teleportation and I'll teach you how to read."

"The _hiraishin_ is family exclusive," Miwa stubbornly said, her eyes narrowed. "Either marry me, or adopt me, because I'm not sharing it any other way."

" _Tch_." Killua's eyes narrowed. "Is that the only one family exclusive?"

Miwa considered. "Rasengan and its variants are family exclusive, too."

"Rasen-what?'

Miwa smirked, raising her nose up and puffing up. "Heh. Wanna see?"

Killua gave her a look as if to say _duh_.

The pigtailed blonde raised up her right hand, summoning forth the basic _rasengan_ by memory. The condensed ball of chakra swirled around its dazzling blue, spinning so rapidly it hummed. Killua's eyes were wide with childish wonder—Miwa thought the look suited him—and he asked, "What is it?"

"Condense chakra," she said. "Well, _we_ call it chakra."

"Could _I_ do that?" he asked her, tearing his eyes away from the _rasengan_ to look up at her.

"I think so," she said. She raised her other hand to gently poke his stomach. "You have chakra inside of you. It's strong enough you should be able to use it, but you clearly haven't trained it." She withdrew her hand, tilting her head as she added, "But all your chakra is in one spot. _My_ chakra is throughout my whole body, running alongside my nervous system. I'm not sure if that will make it easier, or harder for you."

Miwa then completed version one of the _rasengan_ , changing it into the _rasenshuriken._ The other version, _rasenhar_ _ō_ , was a bit too hazardous to show off. The sheer power of the _rasenshuriken_ vibrated the entire area, making the ground tremble as its high-pitched ringing made Killua wince.

With practiced ease she tossed it away into the river. It obliterated its nearby surroundings, breaking everything down on an atomic level. The radius wasn't overly impressive, but the _rasenshuriken_ wasn't about explosive power like the _rasenhar_ _ō_. It was about thorough annihilation.

"It's not as flashy as others," Miwa said, as Killua gaped at the crater, "but it destroys things down on a microscopic level. Nothing survives touching it."

The sheer pain on Killua's face concerned Miwa for a moment before he looked her straight in the eye and deadpanned, "Marry me."

Miwa stared at him for a moment before she burst out into a fit of giggles.

Killua grinned at her. "What? I want those techniques."

"How about you teach me to read and write in this funky language of yours, and I'll teach you fūinjutsu _and_ some other techniques," Miwa offered.

"That's fine. But I'm not giving up on the rassy ball or the hirai-tely-porty thing. How far can you teleport?"

"Countries away," she proudly answered.

"Yep. Not giving that up." Killua nodded firmly at this while he reached over and grabbed one of the childrens books. "Come over here and let's get started."

Miwa scooted over to sit close to Killua as he flipped open the first page.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

The week on the island went by smoothly. On a whim Miwa put up a very minor genjutsu around the campsite so they wouldn't be interrupted by pathetically weak contestants. It was subtle enough that anyone smart enough ought to be able to ignore it.

But it seemed to be powerful enough that it deterred several contestants from even coming near them.

Killua and Miwa alternated between teaching each other the odd languages. Miwa showed off several ninjutsu techniques that made Killua's eyes sparkle like a clear night sky. Even water walking made him whistle.

Kurama wanted to step out and show him _true_ skills, but since that would definitely mean the devastation of the island (and a lot more) Miwa politely told him _absolutely not._

At the end of the week Killua and Miwa packed up camp and headed over to the beach to meet up with the rest of the surviving contestants. To Killua and Miwa's delight Gon was already waiting for them, giving them both a sunny grin and welcoming them. "Hey guys!"

"Gon!" Killua and Miwa exclaimed happily, rushing over to him.

"So how did your exam go?" Gon asked them, all sunshine and smiles.

"Pretty good. Killua proposed to me," Miwa said nonchalantly.

"Wha—Congrats!" Gon exclaimed.

"Thanks," they said before the three of them burst out into a fit of childish giggles.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**BONUS TT!AU - In which Miwa, Killua, and Gon have traveled back to this point in time with all the knowledge / skills they possess.**

**Assuming they were all well behaved at this point and did** _**not** _ **kill anyone yet.**

"Okay, everyone got their cards?" Killua asked, glancing over at Gon.

He, Gon, and Miwa were currently standing atop the water, a fair distance away from the island. Miwa had conjured two shadow clones that were currently carrying Kurapika and Leorio since neither of them could water walk.

"Yep," Gon said cheerfully.

"This is weird," Kurapika observed, looking down at the cards that were shoved in his hands.

"Thanks for helping us and all, but you really don't need to," Leorio tried to say but was shushed by Miwa.

Gon and Killua turned to Miwa, eyes bright as they started to chant, "Bijū bomb. Bijū bomb. Bijū bomb."

 **Bijū bomb. Bijū bomb. Bijū bomb,** Kurama joined in.

Miwa smiled at her friends and obliged.

The bijū bomb obliterated the island, the remaining contestants, caused several tidal waves, and made Leorio faint.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wholesome and innocent friendships make me smile.
> 
>  **Answer:** Does Pokemon count? If yes, then Pokemon. If no then _How I Met Your Mother_ because it'd be nice to for sure get a happy ending and have all my worries resolved in one or two episodes.
> 
>  **Question:** If you were a character in HxH what would be the theme of your character arc? Finding self worth like Uchiha!Killua? Finding humanity like Big King Daddy Ant Man? Finding your old man like Gon?
> 
> Reviews are **love**!


	8. Margay VII

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

"Attention all remaining participants. The chairman wishes to interview each of you individually. When your number is called, please come to the first reception room on the second floor. We will start with #44 Mr. Hisoka..."

The group was traveling to the next destination on the airship, and while they did so one by one they were called to have a brief meeting with chairman Netero.

Miwa was called towards the end, and she entered the small room with some reluctance. Netero motioned for her to take a seat across from him. Once she did so, he cut straight to the questions.

"First why do you want to be a Hunter?"

"It sounded interesting," Miwa answered honestly, scratching her cheek. "So far the only interesting things are a couple of the contestants."

"Hmm-hmm... Which of the other eight applicants are you keeping an eye on?"

Miwa blinked at that. "What? Like... who am I worried about? None of them. Their ch—er—nen as you called it? It's nowhere near as big as mine, or yours. They all seem amateurish."

The chairman nodded at that going _hmm-hmm_ again, then blinked. "You were about to call it something else?"

Miwa gestured to herself. "I was trained to call it chakra. You called it nen, though?"

"Yes. Huh. Interesting. So tell me, which of the other eight applicants would you least like to fight?"

"If it's just a spar, then I don't care. If you're asking me to kill them then I won't kill Gon, or Killua. I'd probably kill you first."

That made Netero laugh. "A bold statement."

Miwa tilted her head, her blonde bangs brushing over her eyes. "A bold confidence from someone who's got something _nasty_ in his, ah, _nen_."

Netero hummed and _hmm_ 'd at that, but then gave a big grin. "Being a sensor at your age is odd. Such a trait normally comes with experience."

 **We've got** _ **plenty**_ **of that,** came Kurama's snide voice. **Cheeky brat.**

' _Everyone is a cheeky brat to you.'_

Kurama huffed at that, and Miwa knew she would probably get the silent treatment for a while now.

Out loud she said, "I'm just a genius."

"So it would seem. I think you'd get along great with my second in command," Netero remarked. "Or maybe you'll just kill him."

"Fifty-fifty chance if he's anything like you," Miwa said sweetly.

Netero laughed at that, his whole body shaking with amusement. "Get going then! I have what I need."

She excused herself.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

They were taken to a luxury hotel. It stood tall, proud, and well maintained. It reeked of wealth: the stench of crumpled up money, sickeningly sweet incense, and sweaty palms. Like a herd of sheep they were shuffled through this pampered hotel and down several halls before coming out into a wide ballroom.

They lined up loosely, with only Gon, Killua, Kurapika, Leorio, and Miwa standing close to one another. It was blatantly apparent that the other contestants had not formed any sort of positive relationship with one another like they had.

That was the logical approach, after all. Why befriend those that you might one day have to kill?

Not that Miwa really cared. No no one could force her to do anything she didn't want to.

If they tried to, she'd kill _them_.

Problem solved!

When everyone had arrived at the ballroom the elderly chairman with the absurd energy core started to speak. "The Hunter Exam Committee runs this hotel. This place is all yours until the battles have concluded. For the Final Phase we will be holding a one-on-one tournament..."

Netero went on to explain this odd bracket. Instead of those who won their battles progressing, those who _lost_ would move forward with the bracket. It ultimately would mean that the one person who finishes at the top will be the one person who does not pass.

One win was all that was needed to succeed at the final phase.

That seemed fair enough, but the bracket was oddly designed. It gave certain contestants more opportunities to win, and others less. According to Netero he and the other examiners had been monitoring and scoring the contestants throughout the competition. Those with the most points were awarded with the most chances to obtain a win.

The bracket read as it stood:

Round one would be #294 (some bald man dressed as a stereotyped ninja) against Gon. Whoever lost that round would go on to face that archer boy, followed by that loser going against Killua, then _that_ loser would face pin cushion freak. Round two would be Miwa against Hisoka. Since Miwa knew Hisoka would obviously lose against her, he'd have to go up against Kurapika afterward. Whoever lost that would go on to face the old man, and finally _that_ loser would fight Leorio.

The only way to secure a win was not through murder, or rendering the opponent unable to fight, but rather the opponent had to verbalize a forfeit.

Which made things a touch more interesting.

And annoying.

Once the explanation was finished, it was time for the first round to begin. Gon was up against #294, and the rest of the contestants stood back to give the two room to fight.

The bald wanna-be ninja abruptly kicked Gon hard enough into the ground that Gon reactively retched. This instantly set Miwa on edge, the hairs on the back of her neck rising and a small frown tugging her lips down. She hadn't realized it, but a slow leak of murderous intent oozed out of her, causing those around her—except Killua, Hisoka, and that pin-needle man—to flinch.

She hadn't known Gon that long, but still—

**Oh—Miwa, switch with me.**

' _What?'_

**Switch with me. Stay inside and let me out. If you lose any more control over your emotions** _**my** _ **chakra will start leaking out and no one here has any resistance to that. Unless you want to kill everyone here?**

Miwa felt her cheeks flush hot, and while she wanted to argue she felt like she couldn't. She didn't really care about anyone else here but Gon, and Killua, but since both were in prime range for exposure...

' _Okay.'_

 **I'll let you back out when it's over,** Kurama said and Miwa felt her mind be pulled back. Kurama's mind brushed over her own, and she could feel the echoes of concern and fondness from him. It soothed her heart, and made it easier to not think about what was going on outside of their mindscape.

She found herself inside the field of flowers again, laying back and staring mindlessly at the calm blue sky.

She did not have to watch her bro—her new friend be tortured.

"Save him if he needs it," she said out loud.

 **I will,** Kurama promised.

She trusted that promise. She trusted Kurama with every fiber of her being, and if he made any genuine requests of her she would always oblige them. She knew Kurama would do the same for her like she knew her hair was blonde.

It was how it should be, and it was how it was.

Despite that, it didn't make her feel any less bothered by what was happening outside their safe haven. She knew her friend was being physically beaten down and it bugged her more than anything had bugged her before (at least so far as she can currently remember). She felt like bugs were crawling on her, disgust and annoyance making her twitch and glare angrily at the calm sky.

Miwa was only wounded up tighter as time ticked by in the mindscape. She wondered if she ought to be prepared to leap out at any moment, grab Killua and Gon to teleport them away, and come back to drop several bijū-bombs on the cretin that dared—

Time was relative in the mindscape. While hours crawled by outside, Miwa only had to wait a handful of minutes before Kurama told her, **The match is over. The arrogant ninja forfeited after seeing Gon's determination, and admiring how Gon never displayed hatred towards him despite the beatings.**

' _Gon never_ what?'

**Gon did not resent his torturer. I'm guessing he's a budding masochist.**

Miwa honestly didn't know how to respond to that.

' _Just... what?'_

Kurama shoved her back forward, brushing past her mind with a gentle bump as he returned to his field of flowers.

Miwa blinked at seeing the arena once again, wanting to frown at how light the atmosphere felt. The only one who seemed irritated was Killua.

' _I guess they're just glad it's over?'_ Miwa guessed, uncertain at why everyone looked so relaxed after seeing an adult man torture a child for hours.

**Ehh. Gon kind of did a therapy-no-jutsu thing.**

' _Huh?'_

**Don't worry about it. Just go take care of that clown fucker.**

Still perplexed, Miwa moved to the center of the arena. She would have preferred if Gon's torturer was her next opponent because then she could _really_ make that worm scream. She felt nothing but mild irritation that her opponent was not that arrogant ninja.

"I don't think either of us wants to needlessly draw this out," Miwa cut in, flipping back her pigtails. "How about we do something simple, and quick, like arm wrestle? You win, I surrender. I win, you surrender."

"I'm not interested in such an easy surrender," Hisoka said with a cruel smile.

**This guy reeks of bloodlust. He probably wants to kill you. Pfft.**

"Fine. You win, I surrender and we can duke it out to _death_ after this damn tournament. Neither of us can fight to our heart's content if we can't murder the other," she snapped out irritably. "I win, you surrender and _fuck off_."

Hisoka laughed coldly. "Very well. You're right about one thing... fighting without the risk of death makes it painfully dull."

Doton wasn't Miwa's speciality, but she knew _enough_ to summon a slab in the middle of the ring. Both combatants approached it, taking a seat on the smaller slabs Miwa had summoned. Miwa propped her right elbow on the table, offering her hand to the red-haired jester.

She felt his inner energy stir, and saw it project out of his finger. She watched him attached it to the back of her hand and the slab and wondered if he thought she couldn't see it.

' _Looks like pink bubblegum.'_

**Fucking gross.**

She ignored it, though, because she felt no real power behind it. With a sigh, she gripped his outstretched hand.

"Someone mind counting off for us?" she asked, her tone a tad harsher than necessary due to her bubbling annoyance.

"On _go_. Three," Killua began, "Two... One... Go."

With a surge of her chakra—and a touch of Kurama's—Miwa abruptly flipped Hisoka's arm completely around. She slammed it so hard against the back of the rock, the rock shattered along with the bones in Hisoka's hand and arm.

Miwa released Hisoka's mangled hand, standing back up and looking at him as if he were a gross bug beneath her heel. "Surrender now."

Hisoka stared down at his hand in disbelief before slowly turning to look at Miwa with an expression that could only be described as incredulous delight.

"I forfeit," he said with that odd smile.

_**Fucking masochist.** _

' _Ew.'_

The following matches weren't anywhere near as hard to watch as Gon's match was. Killua lazily forfeited against archer boy declaring him to be too boring to fight—Miwa couldn't blame him for that—and Hisoka forfeited against Kurapika after taunting him. Hisoka won the following round, and soon it was Killua's turn to go against that weird man with needles sticking out of his face and the stench of rotten flowers.

That creepy man said in a distorted voice, "It's been a while, Kil."

He raised his hands and slowly began to pull out the needles in his face. Miwa could feel the slimy twist of nen—chakra?—oozing out from the areas the needles had once been. In a rather disgusting fashion the man's face transformed into something else entirely. It was paler, flatter, and held dark eyes that betrayed no emotion.

Whoever he had turned into deeply bothered Killua, as the white haired boy paled and took a step back. Miwa could smell his fear from here, and it made her uncomfortable.

"Brother," Killua whispered.

 **Does no one have a normal family?** Kurama questioned. **They all get murdered or are apparently psychopaths who torment younger broth—UGGGH SAGE DAMN IT.**

_'That sounds familiar—'_

**WHY, SAGE, WHY?! I CAN NEVER ESCAPE UCHIHAS!**

Kurama's howl of anguish relaxed Miwa enough she stopped reaching for her hidden kunai to gouge out the eyes of the weird man.

"I heard you stabbed Mom and Milluki," the brother monotonously began.

"I guess," Killua answered, a nervous sweat dripping down his cheek.

"Mom was crying tears of joy. She was so happy to see you'd grown up. But she was worried about you leaving home, so she asked me to check up on you. What a coincidence, I didn't know you wanted to be a Hunter. I'm trying to get a license for my next job."

Killua shifted his weight, his fear slowly abating as it became apparent his brother wasn't going to do whatever it was Killua was instantly afraid he was going to do. In a quiet voice, he admitted, "I didn't really want to be a Hunter. I just felt like taking the exam."

The brother fell silent. "That is good. You were not cut out to be a hunter, you're only meant to be a killer."

His words seemed to cut through Killua, and the boy winced. There was a very odd spike of—of—something? For only a split second Miwa thought she sensed a second energy source inside of Killua's head. It surged forth in power for barely a millisecond before abating, so Miwa couldn't even be sure such a thing happened.

Killua was silent for several seconds, his brow furrowed from anxiety and he clenched his hands tightly into fists. "It's... it's true that I don't want to be a Hunter, but even I have something I want. I... I want... I want to be friends with Gon and Miwa."

"What the hell? You mean you asked me to marry you _without_ considering me your friend?" Miwa blurted out, aghast with wide eyes.

"What?" the brother said.

"What?" came a few other contestants.

Killua startled at Miwa's outburst, turning his head to look at her with a flush expression. "U-Um—"

"That's when you say: No. We _are_ good friends Miwa, I'm just being insecure."

"U-Um—"

"You asked this one to marry you?" the brother asked Killua, his tone disbelieving. He turned to peer at Miwa. "That won't do."

"It—It's not like that," Killua stammered out

"I'll have to kill her, then," Killua's older brother remarked as if he were commenting on the weather. He turned his disinterested gaze onto her.

"Bring it, bitch," Miwa snapped out. "Your core is tinier than a goddamn walnut."

"Miwa—you can't—he's crazy strong," Killua said, his face paling faster than a wilting flower.

"Can _he_ blow up a mountain with one move?" she demanded.

"Uh—no, but—"

"Can _he_ destroy things down to the molecular level with one move?"

"No, but—"

"Can _he_ teleport?"

"No—"

"Can he _at least_ walk on water?"

"No," Killua admitted with a frown, looking over at his brother. "Huh..."

The crazy older brother's eyes narrowed ever so slightly as he reassessed Miwa and Killua. He said after a moment, "It matters not. Your proclaimed friendship is false. You are a killer, Killua, and killers do not have _friends_.

"What's wrong with being a killer?" Miwa demanded with her hands on her hips as she was getting progressively irritated and tempted to just rip that jerk's head off. "What, so just because we murder a few people we can't have fun, or have friends? What's up with that? I _love_ having people to bury bodies with, and it's _fun_ to compete over who can kill the most people without getting caught. Just because we enjoy things a little differently than others does _not_ mean we can't have friends, or family.

"And while Gon isn't here, I feel like I can confidently say that he absolutely wants to be friends with the two of us regardless of how many necks we snap, people we mangle, hearts we rip out, heads we blow up—" Miwa stopped herself from continuing to list the ways she and Killua have murdered people so far in the competition. She cleared her throat. "You get the picture."

"You cannot be friends because it doesn't matter how much you _care_. Eventually you're going to want to kill them. You'll start to think to yourself about it every time you're with them, you're going to want to test yourself against them until you just can't hold it back anymore," Imari disagreed in an eerie velvety soft voice.

"All my best friends have tried to kill me at least once," Miwa immediately defended, not really recalling who her best friends were but knowing she's been in a life threatening situation because of them _dozens_ of times.

**Hundreds, really.**

( _Thousands._ )

"So I will gladly take on your challenge to the death and completely kick some sense back into you," Miwa proudly declared, a bright fire in her eyes. She couldn't explain it, but she felt like she truly needed Killua to understand how important he was. She felt like she had to get him to see how much their friendship was already valued because if she didn't—

— _what if he left her, too?_

Her chest tightened, pain so sharp and fierce it physically _hurt_ to breathe. Echoes of emotions washed over her heart like a dark ocean, brushing against her and pulling away before they drowned her. She remembered people leaving her. She remembered them dying in her arms, and she remembered sacrificing _everything_ to bring them back to her.

She remembered doing it again, and _again_ because of how much she loved these faceless memories.

She hadn't known Killua for more than a couple weeks (centuries?), really, but that didn't matter.

What she felt was real.

And she felt like he, and Gon, were dear and precious friends.

Friends she had to protect, and who had to understand exactly how much she cared about them.

"Plus everyone knows it's the wife's job to kick the husband's ass," she added as an afterthought.

Killua could only stare at her in disbelief for a minute before he completely burst out into laughter. He laughed so hard his shoulders shook and he doubled over. "Y-You're insane!"

"Insanely dedicated," she retorted.

His laughter sprung forward even harder and he struggled to get it back under control as his older brother watched on. The brother's brow was slightly furrowed as he studied Killua, perturbed at seeing how oddly happy he was.

When Killua's laughter was finally under control he wore a smile too joyous not to make Miwa smile back in return. "I hear you... Illumi, I forfeit. I know I can't beat you and I don't see any reason to try."

With his hands shoved back in his pocket, he nonchalantly returned to the sidelines where Miwa abruptly threw her arms around him and pulled him into a tight hug.

A part of her felt afraid that if she didn't grab on to him he might disappear. He stiffened at her sudden contact, awkward and uncertain how to respond. She knew he was probably uncomfortable, but she selfishly continued to hold him.

After a few more seconds he slowly put his arms around her and gently patted her back. "Sorry for making you worry."

"I wasn't worried," she muttered, her cheeks warm. "Idiot."

**Who's the tsundere** _**now** _ **?**

' _Well, if the King of Tsunderes says it's so—'_

**I AM NOT A TSUNDERE!**

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Work is exhausting. :)
> 
>  **A** **nswer:** I think I would have a character arc about acceptance and healing.
> 
>  **Question:** What smell do you think best describes you?
> 
> Reviews are **love**!


	9. Margay VIII

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

Illumi continued to watch his brother act so strangely, confused and suspicious. Killua paid him no mind as he returned beside Miwa with an abashed smile. Miwa reached forward and affectionately poked his cheek.

"Thanks," he muttered shyly, scratching the back of his head.

"What are friends for?" Miwa returned. "Just make sure you win your next match."

He did.

The final match was between Leorio and the oldest contestant.

And to be frank, the oldest contestant was definitely going to kick Leorio's ass. Leorio was lanky, uncoordinated, and only had stubbornness on his side. Whereas the older opponent had experience, skill, and actual combat talent.

Miwa wasn't as fond of Leorio and Kurapika as she was Gon and Killua, but she did recognize that Leorio was Gon's friend and seeing the teenager get beaten around wasn't fun.

So Kurama, ever the helpful friend, suggested: **Just cheat.**

' _Cheat?'_

**You are a kunoichi and a fox demon's vessel. Cheating is in your blood.**

' _Cheat_ how _?'_

**You could try using a suggestive genjutsu on the older contestant to make him think like he needs to forfeit.**

' _And why do this now and not for Gon?!'_

**I know I'm amazing, but you can't expect me to have an answer for** _**everything** _ **that makes you uncomfortable right away.**

' _I suppose expecting perfection from you is a bit much.'_

**I am perfect. I'm just not perfect at keeping humans** _**alive** _ **and** _**not beaten** _ **.**

Miwa resisted the urge to point out the contradictory of that statement, biting the inside of her cheeks instead.

She supposed it would be a good way to test how sensitive non-chakra users were to her genjutsu. She knew it _worked_ on them since it successfully deterred them on the island, but would it be noticeable by some of the stronger nen-users like Netero?

Only one way to find out.

Miwa tucked her hands behind her back and formed the seal's for _tengoku no kenkai_ , or heaven's viewing.

The older contestant stumbled in his punch toward Leorio and then shook his head. Miwa reapplied the genjutsu again, adding a touch more chakra behind it, and then the older contestant fell back onto his bum.

This caused some surprise from Leorio.

Even more surprising was when the old man uttered, "I forfeit."

"Huh?" came Leorio.

"Huh?" came several other contestants.

Miwa released her genjutsu, and brushed her pigtails back over her shoulder.

"And that," Netero cheerfully said, his gaze lingering on Miwa, "is the conclusion of the Hunter Exam. Congratulations to all who won."

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

The actual licenses would be handed out in a few hours. Everyone had to get their photo taken, and there was some paperwork involved.

When Miwa saw the paperwork handed to her she audibly gulped. Killua, with a roll of his eyes, grabbed the stack of paperwork for Miwa and said, "I'll fill out out for you."

She sighed with great relief. "Thanks."

"How did you even enter?" he asked.

"I didn't have to read anything," she explained. "I just listened, talked, and someone handed me a button when I went into one of the rooms."

"Eh," he said after a moment, "I guess I owe you enough to show you the basics."

Miwa blinked at _being owed_ , and she corrected him, "You don't _owe_ me anything. Friends help friends. As your friend, I'll do what I can to help you."

That sounded odd to Killua, who frowned briefly at the foreign word. A thoughtful expression flickered over his face, and he looked down at the paperwork provided. He said, softly, "Thanks."

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

Once the paperwork was filled out and submitted, Killua went to go check in on Gon while Miwa relaxed in the main lobby. Killua was only gone for a handful of minutes before Miwa was approached by Netero.

"An interesting contest," he casually remarked, taking a seat beside Miwa. "That last round was especially enlightening."

 **That's about as subtle as a train on fire,** Kurama snarked. **I can't believe you got caught. Disgraceful.**

 _'What would you have done differently?'_ Miwa retorted.

**Not get caught.**

"Well," Miwa said slowly, tilting her head as she eyed Netero. "You didn't say we _couldn't_ help other contestants."

"Implied through _one on one_ ," Netero rebutted.

"Then why didn't you stop me?" she asked him, brushing back one of her pigtails.

Netero then smiled a smile that was not kind, nor malicious. What he said next gave Miwa and Kurama a better glimpse at who exactly this man was. He said, "More fun this way, don't you think?"

Miwa beamed in return as Kurama cackled in her head. "Mn! I agree."

"Where will you be heading off to now?" Netero inquired.

"I dunno. Adventuring with my friends is about the furthest I have planned."

"Hmm. Do enjoy yourself, then. If you're able to, you should visit my dojo. You should be able to enjoy yourself there," Netero advised.

"Thanks!"

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**(A few hours later...)**

The licenses were handed out without much affair. Miwa's Hunter license was about the size of her palm, laminated and written in the language she could only kinda-sorta read. Killua had taught her how to write her name, so she was able to read that much-

' _Although it looks like he wrote down a last name for me but I can't read it,'_ she thought, peering at the odd jumble of words. ' _I hope he didn't give me something stupid like Cutiepatootie.'_

**Pffffft.**

"Miwa," Killua said, tilting his head back and motioning for her to come to him. Miwa got up from her seat and walked over to her friend. He offered her a cheeky grin. "Or do I call you honeypie or something now?"

The sheer absurdity of Killua calling her that made her snort and giggle, which caused him to snicker. In the short time they had known each other the two could say for certain that cute nicknames were never going to happen.

"Nope. I want darling dearest," she said with a teasing grin. "How about you, sugarpie?"

Killua had to cover his mouth to try and repress his laughter at that. He coughed to try and get it back under control, and Miwa patiently waited—while still giggling herself—for him to calm down.

"I'll pass on that.. D-d-darling de-dear— _pfft_. I-I can't," Killua laughed, wiping at his eyes.

Miwa smiled sweetly at her friend. "Okay... I _guess_ just Miwa is fine."

"Thanks... Miwa, I'm going to head home for a bit."

Miwa tilted her head at that, blinking in surprise. "Huh? How come?"

Killua shoved his hands in his pockets as he explained, "I left without talking to my father. I want to travel with you and Gon and... and you know. But to do that I need to make sure my father understands."

"How come?" Miwa asked, confused. "Would he hunt you down otherwise? Don't worry, I can protect you."

"No, no—I mean, well, yeah he'd probably come get me, but," Killua shook his head, "he's my father. I respect him. I _want_ him to understand."

"Want me to come with?"

"No thanks," Killua said with a shake of his head. "Stay with Gon, okay?"

Miwa frowned, a little unhappy that he was leaving. "Hmm... then when Gon wakes up we'll come get you, okay?"

"You don't—"

" _We'll come get you,_ " she repeated back sternly, pulling out one of her _hiraishin_ daggers and shoving it in his hands. "Here. Take this. If you need me at all, tear off this tag at the end and I'll _immediately_ come to you."

Killua closed his fingers around the dagger, accepting it. "Okay. I'll talk to you later, then?"

Miwa reached forward, wrapping her arms around Killua's neck and pulling him into a tight hug. "You definitely will."

Again, Killua hesitated for a split second before he returned her hug, squeezing her tightly. Almost too soft for Miwa to hear he said, "Thank you."

"Always and always," the words slipped out in return.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *whistles innocently*
> 
> And so concludes the first arc! Next up: Zoldyck Family. Which is a really, really weird family and I had an absolute delight writing Miwa's introduction to them.
> 
>  **But!** I did decide that after finishing every arc I will give myself a week break before I update again so I have time to work on further arcs. I really want to keep this story's updating schedule consistent during arcs, and I need more time to work on the Heaven's Arena / Phantom Troupe arc before we get to them. Next update will be on 01-27-2020.
> 
> Official cover art done by Cantrona. :)
> 
>  **Answer:** Roses. The blooms can be sensitive, but the plant itself is hardy and tenacious. Thorns are self explanatory.
> 
>  **Question:** Who from HxH would make your ideal friend?
> 
> Reviews are **love**!


	10. Saw-Scaled Viper I

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

Gon didn't wake up for the rest of the day, and far into the next one, but when he did he was hecka excited about his license. Less so when he realized that Killua wasn't with them.

"I promised Killua we'd pick him up when you were feeling better," Miwa explained to Gon, sitting by his bedside next to Kurapika and Leorio. "But, um, now I realize maybe you wouldn't want to...?"

"Of course I do! He's our friend," Gon said cheerfully. "Can you teleport us to him?"

"Technically yes, but I shouldn't," Miwa said with a grimace. "I have no way of judging distance until after the teleportation unless I know the area. I have no clue how far away Killua has become. If I were to just go ahead and teleport I might expend all of my energy, and um..."

' _Accidentally unleash some raw, rage-inducing kyūbi chakra that will inevitably result in the massacre of those nearby. Definitely including Killua and his family.'_

**That just sounds like a good time.**

' _Not. Helping.'_

"Did he mention where he was going exactly?" Kurapika asked in a kind voice. The blond boy seemed unnaturally kind and soft spoken. It kind of unnerved Miwa, since it was such a contradiction to what she sensed in his energy core. On the outside he was _nice_ , but on the inside all she could hear was the rattling of rusty chains and the smell of rotten flesh.

She honestly hadn't been able to decide if he was a budding psychopath or just seriously disturbed.

**Please let it be psychopath. Then please let him get strong and try to fight us.**

' _Why can't you learn to enjoy the simple things in life?'_

**Why can't you let me bijū bomb a few cities? Push humanity into glorious war and a fight for survival. Turn the world into post-apocalypse and slaughter the weak.**

' _So sadistic.'_

"Back home to get his dad's permission to go on adventures with us," Miwa told Kurapika, ignoring the pouting ( **I AM NOT POUTING** ) kyūbi.

"Hmm... His last name was Zoldyck, right?" Kurapika said, pulling his messenger bag around. He fished around in it for a moment before he found what he was looking for and presented the group with a laptop.

"How the hell did that not get destroyed?" Miwa wondered out loud.

But Kurapika only smiled mysteriously as he booted it up. It took him several minutes, but he was able to figure out where Killua lived. He turned the laptop around to show everyone a picture of a mountain that looked like it ought to be haunted by ghosts. "Says here the Zoldyck family live on this mountain."

"Then let's go there, Miwa!" Gon declared.

"Okey dokey."

"Where are you guys going to head off to?" Gon asked his other friends.

"Get my degree in medicine to become a doctor," Leorio proudly declared.

"I... have some research to do," Kurapika responded vaguely.

' _Why do I feel like by_ research _he means murdering?'_ Miwa questioned. ' _Is he really going to turn into a serial killer? Not that I'm judging him or anything since I'm_ technically _a serial killer, too._ '

**Sage damn, I hope so.**

Gon's gaze was downcast for a moment before he brightened back up. "Okay! Then let's make a promise to meet up again someday!"

"Of course," they agreed.

"Why not... here?" Leorio said, tapping on something on the screen of the laptop. Since Miwa couldn't read anything she really had no way of knowing what the heck he was pointing out.

"Sounds good!"

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

The trip to the Kukuroo Mountain—apparently it was a dormant volcano, which had Kurama hoping for it to explode while they were there—was short and easy. Miwa had a marker semi near it, and she and Gon made the rest of the journey on foot. There was a town nearby, and a tour that was offering free rides to the mountain.

Gon thought it'd be fun to go on a tour, so the tour was what they went on.

It was not fun.

It was stuffy, lead by an overly cheerful guide lady, and slow as heck. Miwa could have run faster on her hands than that stupid bus.

At least Gon seemed to be enjoying himself, _oohing_ and _ahhing_ at some of the random little facts the tour guide spewed out. When they finally reached the base of the volcano the tour guide let them out to stretch their legs and to take a picture of the Zoldyck Family gate.

The gate in question was big. Bigger than any gate had a right to be. It wasn't as big as Kurama, but it was about the size of one of his arms.

No gate should have been that big.

And it looked so over the top with its dramatic appearance. Any one who saw it would immediately think: _Yeah that's a cliche gate of an assassin's family. SpoOOooky._

' _So... kick the gates open or hop over?'_ Miwa thought, looking the dark gates up and down. ' _I feel like there should be lightning flashing in the background.'_

 **Or at least some ominous music,** Kurama agreed. There was a pause, then Kurama adjusted their mindscape so the two could listen to a haunting orchestra from one of Miwa's old memories.

' _Yep, that's better._ '

Miwa and Kurama were interrupted from their conversation by an outburst of violence. Two of the people who had attended the tour had broken off from the group and straight up attacked the security guard for Killua's home. One of them was holding up the security guard above the ground.

"Open the door, old man!" snarled one of them, a fat blond with a sweaty stench.

Miwa honestly could not believe the audacity of those two. Two men with chakra so pathetically weak she'd consider them beneath wild animals trying to attack someone.

Trying to attack someone who worked for Killua.

Who was Miwa's friend.

_In front of Miwa._

" _Oi_ ," Miwa snarled, stalking toward the two men. "Drop him and I won't snap your necks."

The two men sneered at Miwa, and the larger one threw the elderly security guard to the ground. "Huh? What did you say, little bitch?"

With a burst of chakra, Miwa rapidly busted all of their kneecaps, twisting their legs around in a horrific fashion. She did this within seconds before returning to her original position a few feet away from them.

As far as anyone else could see the two men just had their legs mangled in the blink of an eye. They were howling and screaming in pain, blood gushing out from their wounds as their splintered leg bones poked out from the skin.

"Miwa," Gon exclaimed. "That wasn't very nice!"

"They called me a bitch," Miwa defended herself, gesturing toward the two men who were already going into shock from the pain. "And they were attacking someone who works for Killua. How else was I supposed to react?"

"You should have talked to them first," Gon said, wagging his finger in a manner reminiscent of a scolding. "They might have had a very good reason for doing what they did."

Miwa sighed, realizing her rebuttal of: _I don't care_ probably wouldn't work on Gon.

As Gon and Miwa were having their nonchalant conversation, the rest of the tour group screamed, ran back to the bus, and promptly hightailed it out of there.

Their whimpers and screams were starting to get a little irritated, so Miwa went ahead and crushed their heads under her boot. Gon, meanwhile, was helping the elderly man back up and asking him if he was okay.

"Thank you both for your help," the guard said, offering a polite bow to Miwa. "What brings you two here?"

"We're Killua's friends," Gon chirped, then nudged Miwa's arm. "Well, _I'm_ his friend and Miwa is his fiancé."

This caused the guard to gape at Miwa for a moment. "Wha—truly?"

"We're here to see Killua," Miwa said, glaring at the cheeky Gon who stuck out his tongue in response. They both knew telling people that would only result in a lot of misunderstandings, especially since Miwa did not want to explain their inside joke to a stranger. "He said he had to talk to his dad before he could go adventuring with us."

"Ah, I see," the guard said, nodding at this. "That's wonderful, I'm glad to see the young master has made friends."

Miwa gestured toward the overly sized gates. "Do we just go through there, then?"

"Normally, yes—"

Miwa turned on her heel and approached the door. She was surprised when she moved to push the doors open using her normal strength it wouldn't budge.

' _Oh, yeah?'_

Miwa pushed her chakra out—and Kurama added his own—to enhance her physical strength, and promptly shoved all seven doors wide open. Kurama's chakra lingered in and around Miwa—she had ended up using a tail's worth, which was surprising—before rapidly dissipating.

' _Oof that was heavier than I expected.'_

**That weighed as much as that Sage-damned octopus. Who the hell is this door for?!**

"I-I don't believe it!" the guard exclaimed, eyes bright with awe. "The gates official name is the Testing Gates. Anyone who cannot open this gate is unworthy to enter the Zoldyck Estate. You won't need to worry about the guard, Mike, as he as orders to not attack anyone who goes through this gate. The first two doors weigh two tons each, there are seven in each and the tonnage doubles with each set of doors. Yet you just opened all of them!"

"Who the hell needs a door that heavy?" Miwa questioned, aghast by that odd logic. "That's just a waste of resources. The walls surrounding it aren't even as tall as the door."

**Humans are idiots.**

' _Certainly some of them.'_

"Wow, Miwa, you're really strong! You know for a second there it looked like you grew a tail," Gon jovially commented, all smiles and sunshine. "Thanks for talking with us, Mr. Security man! Come on, Miwa."

Gon and Miwa hopped through the gates that closed shut behind them.

On the other side of the door, there was a massive canine with too many odd proportions for Miwa to say for certain if it was more dog-like or wolf-like. It stood tall—about the size of Kurama's entire paw—and was covered in dark purple fur. It stared intently at Miwa and Gon, its black eyes assessing them with a cold hunger.

"That must be Mike," Miwa observed the massive dog and—

" _Hey, kiddo. I'm Pakkun," the smaller pug greeted her, giving her a toothy grin and a small tail wag. "Wanna touch my paw?"_

Miwa felt the memory echo inside of her heart. Warmth, love, and acceptance came alongside of it. The smell of the pack in her tiny apartment, all clamoring for her attention. Their warm, fur covered bodies, pressing against her own on nights dark and terrible. The sound of their reassured breathing as they slept around her.

The memories of the pack, of _her_ pack, were still in bits and pieces, but enough was given back to Miwa to know she loved them and they loved her.

She glanced down at her hand, wondering if she spilled her blood to summon them would they come to her again?

**Contracts are soul bound, but they are in another world. If you summon them, it will take a significant amount of chakra. Enough that all of your chakra will be drained, and over half of mine I would imagine. Worst case it might even drain all of our combined chakra, whatever nature chakra we could scrounge up too, and still not be enough. We could trap them in between dimensions trying to summon them.**

' _Definitely don't want that.'_

Miwa glanced back over at the guard dog, admiring how soft its fur looked.

"Can I pet you?" she politely asked.

"It doesn't look very friendly," Gon told Miwa, peering at the canine. "I think it wants to eat us."

Miwa only shrugged in response, taking a step closer to the overgrown pup. ' _Do you think it wants to eat us?'_

**Most definitely. It's leaking retrained bloodlust. If you want to pet it, you'll have to tame it.**

' _That's a shame,'_ Miwa thought, turning away from Mike. Taming it would mean using Kurama's chakra to scare it into submission before working with it. She didn't want to do that to Killua's pet puppy.

Maybe Killua would let her pet him later.

' _So soft and fluffy.'_

It warmed her heart to see cute fluffy animals. It put a smile on her face, and a skip in her step. With a cheerful hum, she and Gon began to make their way up the mountain to visit their friend.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**(Kikyo)**

**Meanwhile...**

Kikyo was an unhinged woman.

A brilliant, cunning woman, but an insane one at that.

Growing up in Meteor City resulted in a lot of horrors being forced upon her. Her childhood was filled with cruel acts, and desperate attempts at survival. She learned, painfully so, her desires were unimportant. Her body was a tool. Her mind a prison.

Even as she wallowed in the filth of that hell on earth, she managed to climb to impressive heights.

She even garnered enough attention that she caught the eye of one Silva Zoldyck. He showed her a cold, twisted kind of love, but it was a love that Kikyo had never been given and so she greedily ate it up. The two married, and he took her out of that hell and into the Zoldyck family.

She was a smart woman, and when given the resources helped push the Zoldyck family to greater heights.

But she was... damaged.

Abuse was love. Suffocation was love. Cruelty was love.

This was the love she knew, and so this was the love she passed on to her children.

When her favored son attacked and scarred her face in his escape from home, she was beyond excited. Her son had given in to his killer ways, and even returned some of her _love_!

She was _elated_ when he returned.

Less so when he wanted to leave after talking with their father.

She knew her son was going through a... phase, yes a phase. He was at such a delicate point in his life. As a loving mother she had to help him make the _right_ decision.

Even if that meant she had to enforce a little discipline.

The matriarch of the Zoldyck family enjoyed a lovely tea party for herself outside of their mansion. As she sipped her tea, her butler greeted her with a low bow.

Gotoh was a loyal butler with the Zoldyck family. He was pristine, powerful, and rarely ever smiled. He kept his dark hair pulled back in a low ponytail, and his glasses were always without a smudge. His stoic nature was reinforced by a perpetually dry expression.

Even so, Gotoh had a soft spot for Kikyo, and so he always spoke in a kinder tone when addressing her.

"Kikyo-sama," Gotoh gently began, "two guests have arrived. According to the doorman, they claim to be friends of Killua. One of them... has opened the testing gates."

"The Testing Gate opened?"

"Yes."

Kikyo was silent for a moment, processing this alarming information.

This was it. This was a time when her son needed her to make the right choice for him.

"This is a critical time for Killua. We cannot allow any distractions to come near him, especially such unnecessary things as friends. Do you understand?" Kikyo stressed.

"Yes, my lady."

Kikyo smiled in relief behind her bandaged face.

Yes. She would help her son.

Whatever it took.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**BONUS TT!AU:**

Miwa, Gon, and Killua abruptly teleported into the Zoldyck manor where the family members were sitting down to enjoy dinner.

"Sup guys. Just letting you know this is my best friend Gon," Killua said, patting Gon's shoulder, "and this is my other best friend Miwa."

Gon and Miwa waved.

"Bye bitches," Killua said cheerfully before Miwa teleported them away.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> p data-p-id="7be7f65359fbebd0e0293fc6b91d5051">Killua's family is weird.
> 
> Canonically they (Gon, Leorio, & Kurapika) worked hard to be able to crack the gate open, but there's no reason for that to happen with Miwa's involvement. Don't worry about Gon skipping out on the training here. I have my own plans for him & Killua to grow in different ways with the introduction of Miwa, and... to fit inside the entirety of the narrative.
> 
>  **Answer:** Gon or Kurapika.
> 
>  **Question:** If you had to have a creature / demon / fantasy being trapped inside of you, what would you want?
> 
> Reviews are **love**!


	11. Saw-Scaled Viper II

data-p-id="7168f649a26b44fffeb306d6993d4065"> **(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**(Miwa)**

Gon and Miwa had traveled a fair bit up the mountain but were stopped by someone.

In front of them was a girl a touch older than either of them. She had smooth dark skin, deep grey eyes, and dark purple hair combed into thick bunches each tied with a string toward the tip. She was dressed in a pristine butler's outfit, and held a thick staff with a heavy ball at the top of it.

"Hello," Gon politely greeted her. "We're here to see Killua."

"Please leave. You're trespassing," the girl intoned.

"Don't care," Miwa said flippantly. "We're here to pick Killua up before we go adventuring. Are you here to escort us, or are you in our way?"

"I can't let you pass," the girl insisted, and she drew a line into the dirt with her staff. "If you try to move past this line—"

Miwa, as gently as she could, abruptly shushined to the girl in question and hit her hard enough in the jaw to knock her out instantly.

"Miwa!" Gon exclaimed.

"She was going to get in our way," Miwa said with a shrug. "Come on, let's go."

Gon looked back down at the girl on the ground, then back up at Miwa, then he gave a big shrug as if to say _yeah okay_.

The two friends continued on their way, happy chatting with one another as Gon asked Miwa to show him how she was doing all that super cool stuff.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

Then they were stopped _again._

This time by a woman in an absurdly frilly dress who had a bandaged face and a weird visor covering her eyes. Hovering nearby this woman was a very pretty boy—according to Miwa's nose—who was dressed in a traditional yukata and eyeing the two friends with plain contempt.

"Hello there, dear guests, allow me to introduce myself," came the eerily soft voice of the older woman. "I am Kikyo, Killua's mother. This is Kalluko."

Gon politely bowed toward the woman and Miwa followed his actions. "It's nice to meet you, Kikyo-san. I'm Gon, and this is Miwa. We're Killua's friends and we're here to pick him up."

"I'm afraid I cannot allow that. Killua is not able to see either of you for the moment," Kikyo intoned.

Gon let out a _hmm_ , his eyes narrowing as he glanced over at Miwa.

Like a lightbulb went off inside his head, a mischievous spark ignited inside him. Gon had a wide grin stretch over his face that made Miwa uneasy.

' _He's about to do something stupid,'_ Miwa immediately realized.

Sure enough, Gon slung an arm around Miwa's shoulder as his grin took down Kurama levels of impish glee.

"Well, Miwa's not just Killua's friend, she's his fiancé!" Gon chirped. "He asked her to marry him and everything. Surely, you can understand why it's important these two meet up again?"

' _Oh,_ _no.'_

Kurama's taunting laughter echoed inside Miwa's head, as both understood how their little joke from before could be misconstrued into something a lot more serious now.

Especially when told _to the mother of said friend!_

This caused an instant reaction from both Zoldyck family members.

Kikyo sputtered, her whole body trembling with shock. "Wha— _Wha—_ huh—wha—?"

Miwa opened her mouth to correct this assumption, but then realized that _maybe_ this would allow them to see Killua.

And the woman seemed to not want them to see Killua which annoyed Miwa, so she thought: ' _Fuck her_.'

"That's a lie!" the younger sibling snarled. "My brother would never ask someone like _you_ to marry him."

"How rude," Miwa said, only mildly offended. "I'll have you know I'm quite the catch. I can kick his ass. Besides, why don't you just ask him yourself?"

"This—you—which of you opened the test gate?" Kikyo demanded.

Gon pointed to Miwa, and Miwa raised her hand.

"You opened all of the gates?! Do it again! Let me see it!" Kikyo stomped toward Miwa, grabbing the younger girl's hand and proceeding to drag her back down the mountain.

' _Killua wouldn't be happy if I killed his mom, would he?'_ Miwa hesitantly thought, disliking how the woman was literally dragging her around. She seemed a little... strange. She didn't ooze malice, but rather...

... she seemed sad.

Broken, almost.

 **Most people like their parents, so probably not,** Kurama allowed.

' _What made her so sad?'_ Miwa wondered.

The trip back down the mountain took several minutes, and it took another minute for Miwa to once again opened all the gates. She had to borrow Kurama's chakra for the second time that day, but since she was better prepared for it she was able to keep all of it inside so it wouldn't leak out and potentially harm Killua's family.

Kikyo was hard to read. Since her face was entirely banadaged Miwa could only judge her by the smell of her pheromones, which was hard to do under all her perfume. Her entire body was stock still.

The younger sibling was easier to judge. The boy fell to—actually, now that Miwa thought about it, he was dressed as a girl so he probably wanted to be perceived as a girl—-the _girl_ fell to her knees in stunned awe.

Suddenly Kikyo burst forward and wrapped Miwa into a tight hug. "Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! That strength so young— _yes_! With Killua and that strength my darling grandchildren will be _PERFECT!_ "

Miwa was stiff under Kikyo's hug, uncertain if she was supposed to be happy or uncomfortable with the sudden embrace. The woman's perfume was overwhelming and made Miwa hold her breath. She might have almost thought Kikyo wore it on purpose to give Miwa a headache, but that was silly.

She was Killua's mother, which meant Miwa had to treat her a bit nicer.

Maybe it was a good thing the lady liked Miwa?

Miwa didn't see how it would _hurt_ her friendship with Killua and Gon at the very least.

Kikyo abruptly released Miwa, before grabbing her hand and proceeding to drag her back up the mountain. "Tea! We must have tea. Gotoh, prepare tea for our guests."

Miwa and Gon exchanged looks before shrugging.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**(Kikyo)**

Had someone told Kikyo at the start of the day that she would meet her future daughter in law for her favorite son, she would have killed them.

Killua was _obviously_ going to become the next Zoldyck leader. He was a prodigy, and had _such_ potential that Kikyo simply knew he was going to be the best. He was going to surpass his father, and his grandfather in time. She knew it like she knew the sky was blue.

With such a high standard, Killua's inevitable wife had to be equally prestigious. Kikyo had already been scouring through the potential heiresses to provide her with grandchildren, but none so far had matched up. To be the next matriarch of the Zoldyck family, and future mother of Killua's children, she _had_ to meet a high bar.

Now simply opening the gate didn't grant Miwa that instant status, but it certainly shot her up the list! At the very least Kikyo found a potential future mother.

And the fact that it was _Killua_ who proposed the marriage told Kikyo that there was more to this Miwa than simple strength.

Which was why she had to do a little digging.

It didn't take long for everyone to be situated in the mansion. Miwa and Gon were guided into the guest room where tea and light snacks were prepared. As Miwa and Gon took a seat on the couch together, Kikyo took a seat opposite of them, with the butler Gotoh standing behind her.

"Tell me about yourself," Kikyo began in earnest. "Where are you from?"

"Konoha," Miwa answered, picking up one of the scones and giving it a sniff before biting into it.

Kikyo didn't recognize the town, but that didn't mean much. "What did your parents do?"

"My mother was a kunoichi, but she retired when she became pregnant with me," Miwa answered after a moment of silence. She tilted her head as if she were listening to another voice, but Kikyo didn't hear anything so she dismissed it as an odd quirk. "My father was a shinobi."

The _was_ implied they were deceased. Convenient, but acceptable. Kikyo didn't want to have to deal with insufferable in laws. Dead ones were ideal.

Another check in Miwa's favor.

"And you? Are _you_ a kunoichi?" Kikyo pressed.

"Kunoichi," Miwa confirmed, her tone more confident than before. "Although I guess Hunter, too? We just got our licenses."

Gon nodded encouragingly at that, happily munching on some of the provided cookies.

' _Check, check, check.'_

Kikyo had confirmed that Miwa effortlessly murdered the two harassers from this morning. According to the doorman she had moved too fast for even him to spot, and after brutally twisting their legs around she stomped on them to death.

' _Thrilling!'_

A Hunter license at this age spoke of competence.

Strength, check.

Competence, check.

Ability to kill in cold blood, _check!_

Yes, yes, yes! Kikyo wanted to grin viciously at this ideal find. She would need more time to vet her, but Miwa was passing all the fundamental requirements.

She even had unique physical traits. Whiskered cheeks, blonde hair, big blue eyes... Kikyo could already picture how utterly adorable her grandchildren would look.

How wonderful it would be to see those grandchildren stand proudly over their first kills...

Miwa was dressed in horrid clothes, but that could be fixed. She could be cleaned up like—

Like Silva did for Kikyo.

Kikyo felt her heart skip a cold beat at the reminder of that horrible, horrible place.

Steering away from those cruel memories, Kikyo asked Miwa, "What do you want in life?"

"Adventure?" Miwa guessed, her brow furrowed. "I-I don't know."

' _Lacks direction,'_ Kikyo thought, ' _but that's fine because I can give her direction.'_

She would, too. If this girl was going to be the future mother of her grandchildren, it was the least Kikyo could do to provide her with direction.

Such as strive to becoming the ideal matriarch for the Zoldyck family.

A sick thrill surged throughout Kikyo.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**(Miwa)**

Killua's mom kept asking Miwa all sorts of odd questions.

Which wasn't _terribly_ surprising. Miwa _supposed_ most mothers would want to know about the people her was essentially backpacking with, but she hardly asked Gon anything yet.

 **She's vetting you for courtship with her spawn,** Kurama yawned. **Not being subtle about it, either.**

' _Should I tell her it was just a joke?'_

 **Nah. Watching humans make themselves look stupid is a hobby of mine,** Kurama jeered.

When Miwa found a lull in the questions she decided to ask one of her own. "Where's Killua?"

"Killua is talking with his father now," Kikyo answered dismissively. "He had to be disciplined first after running off, you know. Although I was so proud of him, too! He did this to me, you see, he's turning into such a fine killer."

Kikyo gestured to her bandaged face, gushing about how Killua had done that to her.

 **Another fucking masochist?** Kurama groaned in pain.

Miwa... Miwa really didn't know how to respond to that. The woman was clearly proud of Killua, and Miwa didn't think Killua would just scar his mother's face for no reason.

Exactly what kind of relationship did Killua have with his family?

Or was this woman the odd one out? Miwa had an instinctive feeling that she was... broken... somehow. Was she delusional? Insane? Violent?

' _Should I ask Killua?'_

**Ehhhhh. She's barely a fly on our radar, not worth the trouble to care about.**

' _I meant, do you think he would be mad if I asked?'_

**How the hell would I know?**

' _Would_ you _be mad?'_

**So in this scenario I am the child of a deranged woman and someone I've known for barely a month wants to ask about my situation? I'd be liable to eat that person.**

Miwa decided against asking Killua.

Kikyo daintily cleared her throat. "Now, while you're here, let's go ahead and get your measurements."

"My wha—" Miwa asked, but then she was yanked up by another butler as a third butler proceeded to wrap a cloth measuring tape around her.

' _Weird,'_ Miwa thought.

They worked with quick efficiency, and then she felt a prick of a needle in her arm.

They drew her blood.

' _Huh.'_

**Huh.**

"A simple check to make sure you're free of any disease or genetic issue," Kikyo explained.

"Oh, wow thanks," Miwa thanked her. She didn't _think_ she had anything of the sort, but how would she know?

"Mm-hmm."

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**Meanwhile...**

**(Killua)**

Killua's father was a man that Killua deeply respected. Silva Zoldyck was an infamous assassin. He was strong, intelligent, and cunning—all traits that Killua strove to mimic. Silva trained Killua to be an assassin, and for a while that was enough for Killua.

But then came a day that Killua decided he wanted more than just that life. He wanted to experience a normal childhood—he wanted to experience _friends_.

He left his home in pursuit of that desire.

He had thought, at that time, that his father would not tolerate his return.

That his father might punish Killua, or demand Killua to give up those wants.

It was... a worrisome thought.

When Killua did return he was ushered into a cell for his punishment. His mother insisted on confinement while Killua "sorted out his thoughts" while one of his older brothers insisted on revenge via whipping Killua.

Killua indulged both their requests because these were the two he had hurt in his escape.

He wasn't sorry for his behavior, but he did feel bad that he took it out on them.

Confinement was easy. He needed time to think anyway. The physical torture was something that could be ignored. He had trained his body to tolerate high levels of pain and none of the attacks hit hard enough to draw blood, or break his bones.

He knew, also, that each member were trying to help in their own ways.

His mother genuinely believed Killua would do better if he stayed with the family. Her view on the outside world was dismal, and cynical, thanks to her history. His brother, Mil, believed Killua was mentally weak and unstable and needed firm discipline.

It was a twisted sort of help, but Killua acknowledged their efforts.

It was all his family had ever known, after all.

They never had a chance to meet people like Gon, or Miwa.

This punishment was put on an abrupt hold, however, when Silva called for Killua.

And so came the moment that Killua dreaded.

Killua entered his father's office, his eyes adjusted to the pale blue light that filled it. His father was a big, strong man with long white hair and cat-like blue eyes. Silva sat on his couch, his gaze neither angry nor happy, but a careful neutral.

"Father," Killua greeted respectfully.

"Killua. Come, sit with me," Silva said, gesturing toward a spot on the couch beside him. "I want to hear it... all of it. Tell me about your time in the exam. What was it like? Who did you meet?"

Killua's eyes widened in disbelief, and a brief flame of hope warmed his heart.

Then he gave a shy smile and began to tell his tale.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**(Miwa)**

Miwa was starting to get a little tired from all the questions. Kikyo seemed to have an endless stream of them, and the delicious food could only help so much.

She was finally, _finally_ , saved from having to answer more when Killua entered the room, dressed in an odd outfit and carrying two backpacks.

His presence caused a stir in Kikyo and she stood up quickly, her tone elated. " _Killua!_ "

"Yo," Killua casually greeted. "Father said I could go."

"No, no, I think it would be best—" Kikyo winced, and Miwa picked up the sound of something coming from her visor. It was too quiet for Miwa to discern, but it was clearly someone talking. "But _dear_ —!"

Kikyo bit her lip, clearly distressed.

"Um... we'll be back," Miwa hesitantly said. "The food was really good."

"I'll come back, Mother," Killua added. "It's important."

With the promise to return, Kikyo relaxed. "Yes... yes you will come back, of course you would. There are wedding plans to be made, and more history checks to be done, yes of course..."

Miwa leaned in to whisper to Killua, "I think your mother is taking the marriage joke very seriously."

Killua whispered back, "Yep."

Neither were brave enough to correct the woman.

That was a problem for future Killua and Miwa to solve.

Gon nudged Miwa, leaning in to quietly murmur, "Go hug her."

" _What?_ " Miwa hissed.

"She already hugged you, so she must like hugs. Go hug her," Gon insisted, grinning a rather playful grin.

Miwa hesitated for a split second before approaching Kikyo and giving her a hug. Kikyo didn't really react, which made Miwa feel awkward—especially when she noticed the smirks Killua and Gon exchanged—but at least Kikyo didn't have a melt down or something.

"Father wanted to see you, Mother," Killua said, a very obvious bait to get Kikyo to leave.

A bait she took, though, because with a grumble Kikyo headed off.

"That wasn't an awkward hug at all," Killua teased the moment Kikyo left.

"Shut up," Miwa grouched.

"Here," Killua said, giving Miwa a bulky bag stuffed with clothes. "These are some of my old clothes. Use these instead."

Miwa raised an eyebrow at that, a silent inquiry as to _why?_

"Because your clothes look like a bunch of stolen rags you pieced together on the streets," Killua said with a roll of his eyes. "It's completely uncool."

Miwa couldn't say what was _cool_ or _uncool_ , nor did she particularly care. She touched the clothes inside, felt how delightfully soft, comfortable, and sturdy they were and acknowledged they were a significant upgrade to what she was currently wearing. With a shrug, she placed the bag down on the coffee table before she started to tug off her shirt.

"No, no, no!" Killua quickly said, red faced and panicking. "Don't—don't change _here!_ There's a bathroom down the hall!"

"Prude," Miwa said with a sniff, grabbing the clothes and doing exactly that as she heard Gon's laughter in the background.

Killua had gifted her with some really nice—military grade nice—black cargo pants with dark purple and blue camouflage print. It had plenty of pockets for Miwa to stuff her scrolls in, and felt like it wouldn't tear easily. There were a variety of pants of similar nature inside the bag, but Miwa liked these pants best so she wore them first.

Accompanying them was a sleeveless purple vest with a high collar. The vest had a nice stash of inside pockets, and was thick and sturdy.

The clothes were actually pretty nice. Practical, easy to move in, and comfortable.

What made Miwa choose the vest first was because of the hood.

It had ears on it.

Miwa didn't have much of a concept of _cute_ , but she thought Killua must have looked _cute_ in a cat-eared hoodie. She wished she could see Gon in a similar hoodie, because he would also look very _cute_ in it.

' _Do I look cute?'_ Miwa asked Kurama, assessing her appearance in the mirror.

She could practically see the dramatic eye roll from Kurama. **How the hell am I supposed to know?**

' _You're cute',_ Miwa thought. ' _Fluffy and warm. That's cute.'_

**Using myself as a reference and those terms, then** _**no** _ **. You have no fur, and you're nowhere near my body temperature.**

Miwa nodded in agreement, accepting this.

Heading back out to the living room, she quietly said, "Thank you."

Killua looked her up and down before giving a smile. "Much better. Do you have scrolls that we can put our backpacks in? Those things are way easier to carry around."

Miwa pulled out a few extra storage scrolls, tossing one to Gon—who she realized hadn't had a chance to see them in use—and the other one to Killua.

"Great... now I don't suppose you have a mark near a building called Heaven's Arena?" Killua asked.

Miwa had to rummage through her memories of the new world and found—

"I don't think so," she admitted.

"That's fine. We can take an airship there," Killua said.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Gon asked

And the three kids grinned.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**BONUS TT!AU:**

Killua and Miwa kick down the door to Alluka's room.

"Huh?!" Alluka exclaimed, startled.

"You're running away with us," Killua flippantly told her as Miwa picked her up.

"I'm adopting you now," Miwa politely informed her.

"Okay," Alluka hesitantly agreed.

"I'm your new uncle," Gon added, stepping into the child's room. "Now let's get outta here before the rest of the family get over their concussions!"

"Agreed," Killua and Miwa echoed.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> p data-p-id="55c46474a74f212f86db092385cf3cee">But now I've concluded the Zoldyck family arc which means I'll see you all 02-17-2020 for the Heaven's Arena Arc. Jeeze laweeze simply having Miwa be involved has cut out so much fatty content.
> 
>  **Answer:** Almighty demon fox with crazy amount of knowledge and power that is willing to share that with me, please and thank you.
> 
>  **Question:** Favorite memory?
> 
> Reviews are **love**!


	12. Lioness I

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

Heaven's Arena was an absurdly tall white tower that loomed above any skyscraper Miwa had previously seen. Killua, who had already been here before, expertly guided Gon and Miwa from Miwa's mark to the tower. Once inside the tower, the trio of kids had to join an absurdly long line.

"Whoa. Are all these people here for the arena?" Gon asked, impressed by the line.

"There are no rules fighting here like for the Hunter Exam. You just have to knock your opponent out. The higher you go, the more prize money you earn. This is as good as it gets for those looking to make a living with their fists," Killua said a cheerful smile on his face. "We'll be able to do some good training here, _and_ make some money for our adventure."

It took about two hours of waiting in line—the kids passed the time by coming up with outrageous stories—but they did eventually reach the registration form.

Miwa stared blankly at the form, unable to read what it said except for the words: _Name_ and _Age_.

Killua took it for her, and filled it out on her behalf. "You really gotta learn to read sometime."

"I'm working on it!" Miwa defended, embarrassed.

"Killua Zoldyck you are #2054, Gon Freecss, you are #2055, Miwa, you are #2056. They'll call your number on the first floor of the arena, so make sure you remember it. Please go ahead."

The trio of friends headed off to the arena, entering a large white-walled room with numerous little fighting rings scattered about. A lot of the contestants were absurdly large men trying to wrestle one another, each covered in sweat and blood.

It reeked.

Miwa reflexively pinched her nose shut, hating the smell. It was literally so bad she almost reflexively shot out a bijū bomb to destroy the disgusting pig pen they had to inhale.

' _I wish I had some oil to dab under my nose. Ugh, have they never heard of a shower?'_

 **They look like they would taste of nothing but grease,** Kurama muttered disdainfully. **Revolting.**

"You okay Miwa?" Gon asked, noticing how she was clutching her nose.

"Fucking reeks," she muttered crossly. "Ugh, this is nauseating."

"It gets better later," Killua reassured her. "Hang in there for a few more minutes, okay?"

"Okay..."

The three children took a seat among the benches, barely getting a minute to relax before Gon's number was called. Gon excitedly hurried up to one of the fighting rings. She couldn't hear what the referee was saying—the other fights were loud, and he was apparently speaking quietly—but Gon and the stupidly large man he was about to fight both nodded before taking up positions.

Gon raised the palm of his hand and then—

Miwa's breath hitched the moment she sensed Gon's chakra—nen?—core fluctuate. A trickle of its energy rushed out to Gon's hand and Gon shoved the large man straight out of the arena.

' _Did he just use chakra?'_

 **He's never done that before,** Kurama observed. **Intuitive brat?**

Gon stared down at his hand in amazement before letting out a cheer and heading back to his friends.

"That was an impressive push," Miwa praised Gon when he returned, her eyes narrowed as assessed his calm core. "How did you do it?"

Gon shrugged. "I just did what you did when you opened the gates."

' _Whoa.'_

**Unexpected genius. An idiot in a lot of regards, but maybe he has** _**some** _ **potential in combat?**

' _As soon as we have time I'd like to test them to see if they can use that energy like chakra._ '

"Good job, Gon," Killua said, clapping Gon on the shoulder. "What floor are you being sent up to now?"

"50," Gon answered.

"2056 against 1798, please step forward."

"Ah, that's me," Miwa murmured, hopping off her bench and heading to one of the empty rings.

She was also fighting another robust man who reeked of body odor. If Miwa had less restraint she might have gagged from the foul stench that assaulted her sensitive sense of smell.

The referee called for the fight to start, and the man threw himself at Miwa.

Miwa absently waved her hand, conjuring a blast of fūton chakra that blew her opponent out of the ring and through the wall behind him.

**Weaker than ants. Ugh.**

Miwa idly ran her fingers through her pigtails, internally agreeing with Kurama's assessment.

The referee frowned thoughtfully at the unconscious man before turning to Miwa. "Alright, I'm going to move you up to floor 50."

He signed off on some piece of paper with scribbles Miwa couldn't read and handed it over to Miwa. Miwa accepted it before hopping off the arena and taking a seat next to Gon as Killua finished up his own match.

Killua waved a sheet paper that looked similar to Miwa's. "Looks like we're all going to 50."

" _HWAH_!" came a loud warcry, drawing the trio's attention to it. The one who had bellowed out this cry was a tiny little boy in a white karate gi. He was half their size, and this little boy had furiously punched his opponent straight out of the arena.

' _So tiny,'_ Miwa thought, having a hard time not viewing the tiny boy as a tiny little baby animal. He had fluffy caramel brown hair and baby fat on his cheeks that made Miwa want to pinch them. ' _Cute.'_

 **Feh,** scoffed Kurama.

"C'mon guys, let's go," Killua said, turning away and heading off. Gon and Miwa followed closely behind him. It was such a relief to step outside of that nasty ass rank gymnasium that Miwa loudly sighed and wiped at her nose.

"Maybe we should get you some eucalyptus oil," Gon suggested. "When the fisherman came to visit our island they said that when they first started out they had to dab some under their nose to keep from gagging from the smell of the fish."

"As long as we don't have to go anywhere near such a gross room again, I'll be fine," Miwa said after a moment of thought. "Killua... we don't have to go into another room like that again, do we?"

"None of the other levels are quite that bad," he said. "Probably."

Miwa gulped. "Probably?"

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

"The first 200 floors of Heavens Arena are divided into classes, each comprised of ten floors. Which means that a fighter who wins on the 50th floor advances to the 60th floor. If they lose, then they drop down to the 40th," the elevator lady began to explain as they began the climb up to the 50th floor.

Gon, Killua, and Miwa had hopped on the elevator as soon as they could, but they were joined by that small kid with the chubby cheeks.

"I heard that they comp you a room once you reach the 100th floor," the little boy chirped, drawing the trio's attention to him. He grinned widely at them. "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. Osu! My name is Zushi! What about you guys?"

"I'm Killua," Killua said, offering the boy a polite smile.

"I'm Gon! Nice to meet you," Gon said cheerfully.

Miwa nodded her head to the boy, trying out a polite smile. The smile felt awkward on her face, and she was worried that the boy might be intimidated by her fangs. Small children tended to look away quickly when they saw the fangs. "Miwa."

"We've arrived," the elevator girl said, and the doors to the mildly stinky elevator opened up.

As the children began to file off, Zushi said, "I saw your fights earlier. That was really amazing!"

Killua frowned at that. "What are you talking about? You made it up here with one match, too."

Zushi held up a flat hand. "No, no. I still have a long way to go. By the way which martial arts discipline do you practice? I study the Shingen-ryu fighting technique."

"Discipline?" Killua echoed, eyebrows raising in thoughtful surprise. "Gon and I don't have one, I think. Miwa maybe?"

Miwa made an affirming noise. "I suppose taijutsu, then."

"Ehhh?! You two are that strong with no training?" Zushi gasped, then hang his head. "I'm kind of shocked. Osu! I still have a long way to go."

**He's peppy.**

' _Like a puppy. Puppy wuppy.'_

Zushi raised his head, his bright amber gaze now on Miwa and he asked, "I haven't heard of taijutsu before, though. What's that?"

"It's a little hard to explain," Miwa hedged, not really wanting to get into the middle of an explanation on chakra and taijutsu while they were still standing in a crowded hallway.

A disheveled man in a pink shirt, unkempt dark hair, and crooked glasses clapped as he walked to the group. "Well done, Zushi."

"Master!" Zushi exclaimed.

"You adhered to my teachings," the man praised, lowering his hands and offering a smile that reminded Miwa of—

_A playground that was empty, and teachers who smiled nicely at the other students but sourly at her. The smile was still on their faces, but there was an unspoken layer of disgust._

_Of resentment._

_Of_ _ **pity**_.

Miwa subtly shifted her posture to take a step back from the man that had approached them, eyes narrowing warily.

"Osu! I'm honored. Master, your shirt is untucked again," Zushi added.

"Oh, sorry, sorry," the teacher apologized, quickly tucking his shirt back in. "Who are they?"

"Oh this is Killua, Gon, and Miwa," Zushi explained.

The man slightly bowed toward them. "Nice to meet you. I'm Wing. I wasn't expecting other kids to be here besides Zushi. Why are you here?"  
"Um... we want to become stronger, but we're also broke," Killua explained nonchalantly. "So we're making money simultaneously."

Gon added, "Killua's been here before."

Wing let out an _oooh_. "If you're up here, you must be fairly skilled, but you should pay strict attention to your opponent's body as well as your own."

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

The children had to bid the teacher goodbye to collect their reward before moving up to the next floor. A quick stop at one of the desks and they were each given an envelope with prize money.

"What good does money do?" Miwa wrinkled her nose.

"The only person who says that is someone who doesn't understand the value of it, or doesn't need it," Killua dryly remarked.

Miwa shrugged, nonchalantly answer, "I don't need money. I just steal what I need."

**Or take it off their corpses.**

' _Yeah, that too._ '

"I'm going to guess you don't have a bank account set up either," Killua sighed.

"No. Can't you take it?" Miwa asked.

"Yeah, sure," Killua said with a wave of his hand, rolling his eyes. Miwa grinned at him, happily handing off the envelope to him.

"There's only enough in here for a juice," Gon observed, counting the jenny coins.

"Win or lose on the first floor and that's all you're going to get. A win over an opponent in the 50s nets you fifty thousand. On the 100th floor I think wins are worth a million." Gon and Zushi did a double-take at that number while Killua used the money to buy a juice from the vending machine for him and Miwa. He tossed one of the cans to Miwa, who shrugged before opening it and taking a swig. He took a sip of his own juice before continuing, "Once you're past the 150th floor, you get ten million a pop."

Gon was gaping like a fish out of water. "T-Ten million? Didn't you make it to floor 200 when you were here before?"

"Th- _The 200th?!_ " Zushi squeaked.

Miwa's nose crinkled as she tasted the odd juice Killua bought for her. It was way too sour, no sweetness at all! She abruptly handed it back to him.

"How much do you get for winning on the 200th?" Gon asked.

Killua shrugged. "Dunno because I quit once I reached it. But when I won on the 100th floor, I had around two hundred million in total."

"Where's that money now?"

"That was four years ago, of course, it's gone now," Killua laughed. "I spent it all on snacks."

Killua chugged Miwa's drink, finished his own, then tossed the cans away in the recycling bin. "Come on. Let's go to the waiting room now. We made it through unscathed in the first round, so they're going to put us in another match today."

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

The waiting room did not smell nice.

It did not smell nice _at all_.

It was filled with men— _where are the girls?_ —who were too muscular to be healthy, and who apparently did not understand the concept of basic hygiene. They wore shirts that were soaked in sweat, some had blood stains on them, and all of them fucking smelled fucking gross, _fuck_.

Miwa hadn't noticed she had pulled out two kunai and was about to start a bloodbath (fresh blood overrrode everything else and was _much_ better to smell than their fucking nasty BO), but thankfully Killua and Gon carefully put their hands on Miwa's arm. Killua gently plucked out the kunai, "Easy now."

Gon fished out a ragged handkerchief. "Here, breathe through this. It doesn't smell the best, but it's better than those guys."

Miwa reluctantly allowed Killua to take her weapons away, gratefully accepting Gon's handkerchief in the process. It still stunk, but it stunk like Gon which was significantly better than the BO of strange men who apparently don't shower.

"#2056, Miwa, and #1512 please report to arena 3."

"Looks like the first thing we buy with the next round of money is some scented stuff since Miwa's too _delicate_ ," Killua whispered to Gon, a wide taunting smirk on his face.

"Probably for the best. I don't think Miwa could handle much more," Gon whispered back, eyes sparkling with mockery. Both boys gave Miwa a mockingly pitiful look.

"Brats," she muttered crossly, resisting the urge to react to their blatant teasing as she headed off to her next arena match.

(But true to their word both boys started carrying around scented candles, and oils after that day. _Cheeky brats_.)

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing against Wing. Miwa just... isn't that fond of teachers.
> 
> Chapter also known as: The day Killua & Gon started to forever smell like pine because pine is the best scented candle smell ever. Fight me.
> 
> Gon's instinctive use of nen will be explained more later on. I promise it's not a plot hole. :)
> 
> Lastly, next update will be 2-24-2020. I'm switching it to update every other week because I want more time to work on future chapters. I keep changing my mind how to handle the Chimaera Ant arc. ;-;
> 
>  **Answer:** It's heavily tied with memories of trying out food, Pokemon, and being comforted.
> 
>  **Question:** What would be your "one-shot" ability?
> 
> Reviews are **love**!


	13. Lioness II

**(≧ڡ≦*)**

Miwa's match was unsurprisingly one-sided. Most matches would go on until a technical victory was achieved (each successful hit earned one hit, and ten points made a victory), but Miwa was so laughably stronger than the fodder thrown at her it was over with a wave of her hand.

Killing them was not _currently_ allowed, so she was forced to blow them out of the arena with the use of fūton chakra.

When she was done with her match she headed to where she was told to meet up with Gon and Killua prior. Gon was already waiting for her, and he waved cheerfully upon noticing her.

Miwa picked Gon up and tossed him up to the ceiling, eliciting a boyish giggle out of him. She caught him on the way back down, then tossed him back up again. He did a little roll in the air before coming back down. She set him back on his feet, smiling at his joyous grin.

"That was fun! What was it for?" Gon asked.

"I dunno. Just wanted to."

"... Do it again?" he sheepishly asked, causing Miwa to giggle at him. She bent her nose forward to nuzzle him reminiscent to how an animal would show affection. Her bangs tickled him, though, so he giggled again.

She tossed him back up a few more times—ignoring some of the odd stares the bystanders gave them—until Killua arrived. He watched Miwa toss Gon up and down, a slight frown on his face.

She noticed it and asked, "Do you wanna be tossed, too?"

"Hmph. Do what you want," Killua said, turning his nose up.

 _'How lucky for him I speak tsundere,'_ Miwa thought, popping out a shadow clone and starting to toss Killua now.

"Can you toss us from the ground of the skyscraper to _above_ the skyscraper?" Gon asked excitedly.

"Probably. But we'd need more distance since I'd have to use fūton chakra to safely catch you," she said.

"Fūton?" Killua echoed, arms folded over his chest as he pretended very hard to look like he was _not_ enjoying being tossed. The little twitching in the corner of his mouth betrayed him, though.

Miwa nodded. "Mn."

Miwa tossed her friends for another ten minutes before letting them down and dismissing the clone.

"Then next time let's do that!" Gon decided for the three of them.

"Okay," Miwa agreed with a smile.

**(≧ڡ≦*)**

Once the trio reached floor 100, they were given private rooms. And it was here, that Killua decided they were ready to learn about Miwa's chakra.

"The energy inside us, at its core, is the same," Miwa said, as she took a seat on Gon's bed. Gon and Killua both sat criss-cross on either side of her. "And after observing your cores closely the past couple of days I can say with absolute certainty that both of you have already been subconsciously drawing on it."

"I do?!" / "I'm what?!" Killua and Gon exclaimed at the same time.

"You do realize most children, regardless of how much they physically train, can't do the things you two are doing," Miwa pointed out, frowning. "Your strength, speed, and so on is dependent on your subconscious use of nen, or chakra, or _whatever_ you want to call it. If you can learn to consciously control this energy there's no reason you can't learn ninjutsu, genjutsu, taijutsu, fūinjutsu, and so forth. At least, I don't currently see why not."

_'Although the use without a proper chakra network will be... interesting.'_

**It's perfectly possible that they won't be able to do so because they lack that network.**

_'There's really only one way to find out, though.'_

"Does that include teleportation and those completely awesome rasenballs?!" Killua excitedly demanded.

"Those are family secrets," she reminded him.

"We're getting married so it's okay, right?!"

Miwa rolled her eyes at that, as Gon whined, "What? I want to learn that stuff, too!"

_'What is it with boys and wanting to learn new and dangerous ways to kill your enemies?'_

**I seem to remember a certain little girl wanting to learn all sorts of nasty little tricks.**

_'Th—That's completely different!'_

**Uh-huh.**

Miwa coughed to clear her throat, fighting back her blush. "W-Well you're going to have to learn the basic stuff first anyway! Try learning to control your energy first, and we can move on to some ninjutsu later."

Both boys let out a whoop before tackling into her to hug her.

"Ahh!" Miwa squeaked, her face flaming red, which only caused her friends to laugh at her. "W-We're getting off-topic!"

It still took a couple of minutes for both boys to stop teasing their red-faced companion, and a few more for Miwa to calm down enough to resume instruction.

"A-Anyway!" Miwa cleared her throat, fiddling with her pigtails. "We'll start off on first locating your energy core."

"How are we going to do that?" Gon asked.

Miwa reached out to both of them, placing a palm on their chests. "I'm going to give you a small taste of my own raw chakra. Once you're aware of the feeling of chakra inside of you, you should at least have an idea of what to look for. Finding your core after that will be entirely dependent on you."

Miwa began to gently push out her own raw chakra—Kurama helpfully pulling out his chakra in the process so neither boys would be poisoned. She leveled it out, and carefully guided it inside of both boys—just barely going underneath the skin.

Chakra could become dense enough to cut through solid bone, but at its base it was intangible. It's how auras could be passed through without fuss.

"W-Warm," Gon breathed out, eyes widening in startlement.

Killua was silent, but his expression of wonderment spoke volumes.

"Chakra is unique to every person," Miwa explained. "This is my chakra—my signature."

"You're warm. Like a campfire!" Gon told her, placing his hand over hers. "Do you know what we feel like?"

"Mn. Gon when I sense your chakra you feel like a still pond with water that goes deeper than the ocean," Miwa answered. "And Killua is like fresh snowfall in a quiet forest, cold and soft all at once."

She retracted her hands, and both boys blinked vapidly as Miwa's chakra left them. Killua reached up and touched his chest where Miwa's hand had been. "That was weird. In a good way, though."

Miwa scratched her cheek, feeling oddly sheepish. "Um... I don't know if this might help you two, but the Chairman, Netero, mentioned that this world refers to chakra as nen."

"Nen...? Miwa, is this energy something everyone has?" Killua suddenly asked. "Did you see it in my brother, maybe?"

"Yes. Your brother and Hisoka had cores that reflected years of training with the energy."

"This must be it..." Killua muttered, his brow furrowing. "Did you see Zushi use this energy?"

"Mn... his core is much smaller than either of yours, but it does show _some_ use," Miwa tried to explain, her eyes narrowing as she thought back on the small boy. "He's a little oak sapling that's finally above aground."

"Then... do you think Zushi's teacher, Wing, is the one who is teaching him?" Gon guessed. "What was his core like, Miwa?"

"Um, it certainly showed a lot of control. I didn't pay that much attention to his typing, though," Miwa admitted.

"Hm. I wonder if there's any difference between nen and chakra training?" Killua mused.

"We can always ask Zushi," Gon suggested.

"It certainly wouldn't hurt," Miwa agreed. "It would be nice to know the key differences in chakra against nen."

**(≧ڡ≦*)**

Finding Zushi was easy. Asking about nen was easier, and to the trios' surprise Wing interrupted Zushi's explanation and offered to give proper instruction.

That was how everyone ended up at Wing's home, several blocks away from Heaven's Arena.

"Nen, or flame, is a power that inflames our souls," he began. "In other words, it is the strength of your will. And the Four Exercises are part of a training curriculum that strengthens your will. Ten: focus the mind on a single point, reflect upon the self, and determine the goal. Zetsu: express or put into words. Ren: temper, or intensify, that will. Lastly hatsu: release it into action."

Miwa tapped on her chin, the description sounding... off.

**Nen is only... what? A manifestation of will?**

_'But I definitely_ feel _a combination of spiritual and physical energy inside of them. That's the definition of chakra, their energy core_ has _to be similar to chakra at the very least.'_

"Killua, in your match against Zushi, Zushi tempered his 'refusal to lose'," Wing added. "So allow me to demonstrate. Killua, I am going to kill you now."

_'What?'_

"Is that alright?" Wing inquired.

"Sure," Killua said with a shrug.

_'What?'_

Wing smiled politely in response. "Then let's go in order. First ten: I focus my mind on a single point." Wing changed his stance into some kind of weird position, where his knees were bent down and his two arms crossed straight down. "Zetsu: express yourself mentally or verbally. _I will kill you_."

There was a shift in the energy inside of Wing, the energy slowly spreading out to cover every inch of his form without the use of a network to guide it.

 _'Ooo,'_ Miwa thought, impressed by this level of control.

**That ratio, though—**

_'Ah—!'_

At its base, all core energies had a natural state of perfect balance. 50% spiritual, and 50% physical, or a 5:5 ratio. Undergoing nature transformations would change this ratio, skewing it in favor of the physical or spiritual. There were rare exceptions when different forms of chakra were added in—such as Kurama's chakra added in to Miwa's base changed her flat ratio into 5:5:3. Going past 10, or 100% always created for volatile or unstable reactions, hence why using Kurama's chakra—or senjutsu since that was added on, too—was so dangerous.

While Wing was drawing upon his base energy he did a complete flip!

His ratio, once 5:5 was now entirely skewed to 10 at physical energy.

 _'Is nen... a change in chakra?'_ Miwa questioned. She had never _ever_ heard about a type of nature that could be entirely physical, or entirely spiritual. Seeing Wing's energy transform to such an extent was absolutely insane, borderline impossible.

The result of the change, though, was a sudden burst of malicious intent.

Miwa idly scratched at her cheek as the man released an aura of bloodlust and murderous intent. She was completely fascinated by this outstanding revelation of nen, and simply couldn't be bothered to care.

Besides, compared to Kurama's default presence of volatile chakra, it couldn't make Miwa even bat an eye.

For some reason it made Gon take a step back, and Killua straight up leapt up onto the ceiling in a defensive position.

A bit like a cat, actually, which made Miwa want to giggle at him.

Kurama straight up laughed at their reactions. **They're scared of a little ant?! Ahahahahaha!**

The energy died off, though, and his core snapped back to a default state. His signature was a lot like a mountain, and Miwa wondered if signatures played a role in the ratio?

Wing said with a smile, "That was ren. With enough strength and focus the will functions as action, or hatsu. If your will is strong enough, you can make your opponent back down without moving a muscle. The concept of bluffing is derived from this. Ren hardens that which is soft, and you lose the ability to correct an incorrect idea. Therefore, you should avoid using ren until your soul has fully matured—"

"Stop," Miwa cut in, shaking her head furiously. "No, no, no. That's not what you did. Your core—it's all physical energy!"

"Huh? Did his chakra change?" Gon asked, as Killua hopped down from the ceiling and reluctantly rejoined the duo.

"Mm-hmm! Like a change in chakra," Miwa explained, looking up at Wing with wide eyes. "What you teach, and what I was taught are completely different. Your reference of willpower, though, might explain why your energy turns into physical energy. But if you're talking about the soul, then you should be using your spiritual energy, right? But you didn't use any spiritual energy at all, that was entirely physical."

Wing blinked once, twice, then thrice, at Miwa's explanation. "Pardon? Chakra?"

"Mn! Like..." Miwa walked up the wall and stood upside down on the ceiling. "See? I've moved chakra to the bottom of my feet, but since it's not a change in nature it's remaining at its base. When you did that ren, thing, you turned your energy into something entirely physical.

"Wha—HOW ARE YOU DOING THAT?!" Zushi gasped.

"You get used to it," Gon told him, patting the top of his head.

Miwa flipped off the ceiling and summoned her _rasengan_. "This is also not a change in nature. But when _I_ change natures—"

Wing held up a hand to stop her. "Hold on. Let's go back to the beginning. What is chakra?"  
"Chakra is the fusion of physical energy and spiritual energy," Miwa recited. "We all have it inside of us. At its base, it remains a perfect balance of 5:5, but when you change its nature that ratio changes. When you use nen, that ratio turned into 10, entirley in favor of physical. So nen is a change in chakra, yes?"

"I—I've never heard of chakra before," Wing admitted. "Nor am I familiar with these energies you speak of."

"Ummm... here," Miwa reached forward and showed Wing her chakra like she did with Gon and Killua. "You feel your chakra, too, don't you?"

Wing was silent for several minutes, contemplating this new information. "You... have already received information in chakra, and you were going to train Killua and Gon, yes?"

"Yeah. But their bodies are different than mine. It looks like this wo—looks like most people are predisposed to use nen, maybe?"

"How your body different?"

"You only have one core," she said, gesturing toward herself. "I have a network that runs alongside my nervous system, and many smaller opening points throughout that network. Using these smaller points—tenketsu—I can adjust the disbursement of my chakra. With my network I am also able to change the nature of my chakra, or use it to enhance my body. I'm not confined to categories like a nen user, but I can instead learn _all_ of them."

Killua frowned. "Then could a nen user never learn chakra?"

Miwa shook her head. "It's not like that... the network makes it easier to control, but at the end of the day we're using the same energy. I believe with enough skill and practice you could learn how to disburse the energy through your body without the use of the network. That's how Gon's been pushing people out of the arena—he's been using a very small amount of his energy to enhance his strength. Even you do it sometimes, Killua, without realizing it. Wing himself was able to push his entire core to cover his body, but he did so by changing the nature of it."

Wing adjusted his glasses. "Hmm... Miwa, would you mind watching my, ah, core and telling me when my base ratio is off?"

Miwa nodded as Wing took a seat on the carpeted floor of his living room. He let out a slow breath, and began to meditate. It took a few minutes, but his core began to fluctuate.

"Your core is moving, um... the further you push it out the more the ratio is off," Miwa observed, feeling the odd change. "The ratio you have now is what's used for doton ninjutsu."

There was a thin line of sweat over Wing's forehead. "I do not have control over my nen to utilize it in its current state. It feels incomplete and intangible."

"Interesting... is your body predisposed and requires the complete transformation, or is it a mental block?" Miwa questioned.

"That would be difficult to say," Wing said, glancing over at Killua and Gon. "Have either of you begun your training?"

Both shook their heads.

"Then perhaps we should work together on this," Wing suggested. "When comparing Miwa's... chakra, to my nen there is a noticeable difference in use. I would like to see if it's due to the network she mentioned, or if perhaps chakra is something that can be taught."

"That's what we wanna know, too!" Gon said cheerfully. "Except we don't really know how to call on the energy at all right now."

Wing was silent for a minute, contemplating. "I have to admit I was wary of teaching nen to the three of you, but this viewpoint on chakra has ignited a level of curiosity I am reluctant to ignore. Miwa's chakra has such a distinct feeling to it, I can't deny its familiarity to nen, but I can also say that it's not the same, either. If nen is willpower—physical energy—and chakra is the fusion of that _and_ spiritual energy, then what would happen if someone used entirely spiritual energy?"

"Such a question would require someone with precision control over their spiritual and physical energies," Miwa answered. She glanced over at Gon and Killua. "Are your bodies predisposed to using nen, or _can_ you use chakra?"

"Only one way to find out!" Gon exclaimed, practically vibrating in place from sheer bubbly excitement.

Under Miwa and Wing's watchful eye Gon and Killua took the first step in their journey to mastering that powerful energy locked away inside of them. Both were able to locate their energy, and it took them a few minutes before they began to manipulate it.

They were _trying_ to maintain the same wave of energy to keep the ratio even, but as Miwa witnessed it was a struggle. The spiritual energy kept slipping away from them, causing the overall ratio to skew to 100% physical, or nen.

"So it looks like your bodies are naturally inclined to use nen," Miwa concluded, her statement causing both boys to cancel their concentration. "But I did see a fluctuation in spiritual energy. I think, given enough time and practice, you might be able to control your spiritual energy _enough_ to learn how to use chakra."

"Would it be best to learn how to use nen first, or chakra, though?" Wing asked.

"Nen is what their bodies are inclined toward, so I would suggest that first," Miwa answered. "When training in chakra, we have to first master our natural affinity before we are allowed to move on toward others. That being said, it seems like a lot of the beginning steps to using nen are similar to chakra. Maybe... maybe they can do both?"

"I wanna do both!" Gon exclaimed.

"We can multitask just fine," Killua agreed.

"Then while you practice your nen, you can practice... the leaf exercise!" Miwa said cheerfully, a big grin on her face.

"That sounds lame."

"It absolutely is."

**(≧ڡ≦*)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No lie, I just really want Killua and Gon to learn chakra for teh lulz in later scenes when it finally becomes relevant. So this is my version of nen/chakra. I tried to keep it as close to canonical as I could. :)
> 
> No time travel AUs for this arc since there'd be no reason for them to come back to Heaven's Arena unless they decided to become floor masters for teh lulz. And since we've never met floor masters I have no idea how to make a joke about it. *shrug*
> 
> Next update: 03-09-2020. 
> 
> **Answer:** Something related to wind. There's a lot of utility in air / wind control. Water is tempting, but I think wind would be more fun.
> 
>  **Question:** What kind of nen would you like?
> 
> Reviews are **love**!


	14. Lioness III

p data-p-id="6a4aea4a921ad5e6664fd4d9ff13c127">Nen training and chakra training were done in between matches and whenever Gon and Killua had a moment to spare. The two boys had a true affinity for nen, perfectly transforming their energy to something akin to Wing's. Chakra on the other hand proved exceedingly difficult.

"It's like trying to grab smoke with your bare hands," Killua had complained during one session.

Their very core instincts were telling them to use nen, and keep the ratio entirely in favor of physical. Going against that instinct was proving to be a true challenge for both of them.

But, they were at least able to get a leaf to stick to their forehead for a solid two and a half seconds within the first week of training.

They wouldn't be able to move on past the leaf lesson until they could move the leaf around their body for at least an hour—a feat that sounded like it would take months for the boys to complete.

Still, they were determined and it was hard to deny their enthusiasm to learn.

(Miwa thought they looked especially cute when their eyes lit up at the simple idea of being able to use ninjutsu.)

At the end of the week, the trio had claimed enough consecutive victories to climb up to the 200th floor.

They took the elevator up, Gon excitedly bouncing in place with a big goofy grin on his face. "What's the 200th floor like, you think?"

"Who cares," Killua said, his hands shoved deep into his pocket.

The bell chimed on the elevator and the three of them stepped off. The 200th floor certainly had a luxurious feel to it, with soft red carpeting, golden accented decor, and warm lights hanging above.

It also smelled like cinnamon apples, which Miwa greatly appreciated. The three began to head down the hallway toward the reception and stopped short in a dark hallway.

The reason they had stopped was because of the blatantly thick malicious aura that permeated it.

 **Is this a challenge?** Kurama cooed.

'Certainly feels like it,' Miwa thought, a little annoyed at their arrogance. Whoever was at the end of the hallway certainly had to be stupid, or craving for death. She thought the aura felt a little familiar—so maybe she had run into its owner before?

"Nen?" Gon questioned.

"Gotta be," Killua agreed. "Come on, let's go."

Miwa took the lead, the least unaffected. It was certainly aggravating that someone decided to lust for her blood at the drop of a hat, but that was the best attention she could give it.

Fearful?

Of what?

She couldn't sense anyone in this tower with a core near her own size, let alone big enough to outlast her and Kurama. She certainly hadn't encountered a life-threatening situation since waking up.

Why would she ever be afraid of some random asshole's aura?

She was half tempted to give them a taste of her aura.

_'But that might startle Gon and Killua.'_

Both boys were still very fresh to nen and chakra, and the intermingling of the energies with intent (bloodlust in this case) was something that took time to overcome.

Considering they were only a week into training they were handling themselves very well. Both boys were cautious—and Miwa thought Killua looked understandably pissed, too—but neither were flinching or cold sweating.

As the three made it halfway down the hallway, one of the arena workers stepped out. The aura coincidentally cut off when she did so, but Miwa could tell that her energy was completely different than the one that was directed at them previously.

"You three must be Gon, Killua, and Miwa?" she inquired, a tired smile on her face. "Please come with me to register for your match on the 200th floor. You must register before midnight, or you'll be disqualified. At the 200th floor, there are over one hundred and seventy contestants, and you will no longer battle for prize money but rather honor—"

She was abruptly cut off by Hisoka approaching from behind her—he moved fast enough that Miwa almost thought he used the shushin technique—effectively scaring the daylight out of the reception.

"O-Oh! P-Pardon me," she said, bowing apologetically as she pretty much turned tail and ran away from Hisoka.

'Don't blame her there,' Miwa thought in distaste.

"H-Hisoka?" Killua stammered out in surprise.

"Ewwwww," Miwa whined. "I don't wanna fight a masochist!"

"What are you doing here?" Gon demanded, taking a step forward and stretching out an arm in a rather adorable attempt to shield Miwa and Killua from him.

 **Like a tiny puppy yapping at a wolf,** Kurama cackled.

"It's not that surprising, is it?" Hisoka drawled out, the red-haired man turning around to smile coyly at the children. "You bought your tickets online, such information can be easily found. I've been waiting for you."

"You're literally stalking us now?" Miwa growled out, her lips pulling back into a silent snarl. She didn't consider Hisoka a dangerous person to face off against, but he could prove to be dangerous to her friends who were still learning the basics of nen and chakra. For someone with as refined a core as Hisoka, he could do some damage against them.

_'Might even—'_

**Want to take his head now, then?**

It was tempting.

Miwa's fingers twitched. It would be so easy to take that first step forward and go directly for his throat.

' _Wait_.'

Miwa was certainly the protective type, and her instincts had a tendency to lean more toward kill first, question later.

From what Gon had explained of his previous interactions with Hisoka, Gon did not view Hisoka as someone he was truly afraid of. Rather, he saw Hisoka as a milestone to overcome.

This arena—this trip—was meant to train and cultivate Killua and Gon's strength. They would be presented with a variety of increasingly powerful foes for them to overcome. If they lingered long enough, they might even have a chance to use their newfound nen in battle (Miwa doubted they would have mastery over chakra any time soon).

Miwa forced herself to relax, even as her eyes glared icily at the disdainful cretin.

If she wanted Gon and Killua to become strong enough to protect themselves she couldn't baby them.

The moment he directed true intent to kill them, however, Miwa would rip his fucking heart out.

She was faster than him, this she knew in her very soul.

No one was faster than her.

Certainly not some arrogant shithead fuck boy who was stalking her friends.

**Ooo. So angry. Like a puffed up kitten who was rudely awoken.**

_'More like a territorial serial killer who's getting taunted by a damn clown.'_

**True, true. You lack the flair, or creative expression of a serial killer, though.**

_'Excuse me for being a boring old murderer.'_

**Not excusable. Do you know what would make me forgive your lack of imagination? How about a—**

_'Do not say bijū bomb.'_

**—good old fashion genocide from a big explosion.**

Despite her previous irritation, Kurama's nonchalant words made her inwardly smile.

_'You always know how to make me happy.'_

**I know you. The rest is easy.**

While Miwa was debating the merits of using Hisoka as a punching bag for her friends, Hisoka had been using that opportunity to slyly taunt Gon and Killua.

Hisoka ended it by saying, "You've already progressed so far in so little time. Are you prepared to fight on this floor?"

"We'll be fine," Killua sharply cut in. "Get out of our way."

"Yeah," Gon echoed. "We gotta register."

Hisoka coyly laughed, waving his hands in a mocking gesture of surrender before turning and heading away. Gon stuck his tongue out at his retreating back while Killua followed suit.

"What a creep," Killua muttered crossly. "Come on, let's register."

The trio of friends made their way down the hall to where another employee was waiting for them at a registration desk. She had a bubbly smile that was absolutely fake as she greeted them, "Welcome to the 200th floor. Please fill out these forms!"

Miwa groaned in annoyance while Killua accepted her's. It barely took the trio for more than a few minutes to fill out the first forms.

The employee asked, "Would you like to register for a match now? This level uses a self-service system by which you're permitted ninety days of preparation. You may choose to fight on any day during that time. Of course, you're free to fight every day, and you can also wait until the very last minute. Once you've participated in a fight you have another ninety days to prepare. However, if you don't fight before those ninety days end you will be disqualified and your name will be struck from all records."

Gon immediately asked, "Does that mean we'll be fighting here multiple times?"

"Yep! You need ten wins to clear this floor. However, if you lose four times before ten wins you'll be disqualified. If you win ten times you have a chance to challenge the Floor Masters! The Floor Masters are the twenty-one strongest fighters here. Each gets one whole floor from 230 to 250. Understand now? If you defeat a Floor Master you can become the new master of that floor. N-Not only that but as a Floor Master you earn the right to participate in the Battle Olympia, the Biennial Festival of Combat."

The employee seemed to be rather distressed that none of the children reacted with the slightest bit of interest to her information splurge.

Killua idly asked, "Is there anything special about the top floor?"

"That's what you want to know? The champion of the Battle Olympia gets to live on the top floor. It's an incredible honor. A penthouse 1,000 meters up, don't you get it now?!"

"But Killua your house is 3,700 meters up, right?" Gon turned to Killua, ignoring the employee.

As if struck by lighting the employee fell to the floor. She struggled to get back up, whimpering, "A-And the companion always receives a prize of—"

"What do you guys want to do?" Killua asked Gon and Miwa. "Now that I know the top floor's secret, I don't care anymore."

"I just want to fight Hisoka," Gon said.

"I just want to kill Hisoka," Miwa said.

Gon elbowed her. "Hey!"

"I won't kill him unless you say I can," Miwa promised. "Or unless he's about to kill you. Then I will absolutely murder him."

"Well," Killua said pensively. "If Gon wants to fight Hisoka he'll need to win a fight first. But you're gonna wait a bit first, right?"

"Nope!" Gon confidently declared. "I have to find out how different these opponents are."

"Finish filling out these forms then," the employee sourly muttered, slamming more papers on her desk.

Gon let out a cheerful affirmation as he began to do exactly that. While he worked three adults approached them from behind.

They all looked like one good fūton attack would blow them into the next city. One of them was in an industrial wheelchair, another on a single pegleg, and the third one reminded Miwa of a snake.

Miwa instantly hated the third one.

Killua dryly addressed them, "Do you need something from us?"

The wheelchair one said, "No, not really."

Snake boy added, "We're simply in line to register for a fight, right?"

For some reason they then proceeded to _giggle_. Not the cute little giggle children did, but the kind of giggle that a stalker might do when watching the object of their fascination. It was creepy, disgusting, and Miwa looked at them like they were bugs under her shoe.

Killua sighed. "Right. Gon these guys want to fight on the same day you do."

Gon glanced back, looked the giggling adult men up and down, then proceeded to finish filling out his paper. "I'm ready to go whenever."

Gon turned in his paperwork and the employee said, "Gon will be in room 2207, Miwa will be in room 2216, and Killua will be in 2223. We will let you know which day your match is."

With that, the friends headed off to Gon's room first.

"We're allowed to kill our opponents now, right?" Miwa irritably asked when they were out of earshot of those creepers.

_'Are all adults in this world creepers?'_

**Starting to feel like that.**

"Yeah," Killua said.

"That's no fun, though," Gon said, unabashed by Miwa's bloodlust. He reached over and tugged on her pigtail. "This is supposed to be fun, Miwa! Is killing fun?"

"Sometimes," Miwa answered with a shrug.

"Hmm." Gon's face twisted up in thought as he considered what to say in response to that. He apparently couldn't think of anything so he shrugged and said, "Okay."

Killua scratched his cheek, watching the exchange with a slight frown. "It's not... normal to kill people, though... right?"

"Define normal," Miwa asked.

"I don't think anyone did it where I grew up," Gon admitted, "and I know some people might get upset about it."

"Wouldn't _you_?" Killua questioned Gon, staring directly at him.

"Upset seems like a strong word," Gon answered, tilting his head. "Hmm? Maybe... ummm... a little annoyed? If you kill someone, you can't fight 'em again."

"That's the point," Miwa said. "If you let them go, they could come back stronger."

"Yeah, that's what I want." Gon nodded firmly. "To get stronger you have to fight stronger people, right? Hisoka made me realize that when I hunted him in the third phase. He actually helped me out, which is why I really want to beat him!"

"Are you a masochist?" Miwa deadpanned.

"Huh?" Gon blinked. "What's that?"

Killua loudly sighed. "Neither of you are anywhere close to normal, why did I even ask?"

"I think I'm pretty normal," Miwa defended herself. "If someone is a threat, you take them out."

"But if you leave them alone they could become a super threat and then you could get a super battle," Gon argued.

"That's exactly what I'm trying to avoid."

"That's exactly what I want."

The two friends stared intently at each other for several seconds, then both shrugged.

"I respect your masochism," Miwa said cheekily.

"I respect your dullness," Gon returned cheerfully.

"I'm going to bed," Killua sighed, 100% done with that conversation.

**(≧ڡ≦*)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The morality of Gon is surprisingly the darkest out of all the shounen heroes I've encountered. As described by Aleczandxr & NewWorldReview he's a rather selfish hero. Regardless of your background, morality, etc how Gon views you is entirely dependent on how long he's exposed to you, and how helpful you are to him. There's some talk about "doing the right thing" but his actions loudly convey his true thoughts.
> 
> **Answer** : Wind manipulation so I can fly and suffocate people. Pls.
> 
>  **Question** : If you were a Shounen protagonist what would be your plot power? Like Therapy-no-jutsu from Naruto, the power of friendship from every anime ever, overkill everything like Overlord, etc?
> 
> Reviews are **love**! 


	15. Lioness IV

Gon's match was scheduled first thing in the morning the following day. It was with the man who only had a single pegleg, wrapped entirely in a red cloak from torso to head, and wore a breathing mask.

Frankly, he looked like someone who should be on disability, not fighting in an arena. Miwa had to give him props for doing what he was doing.

But he was also a disturbing man who giggled at the thought of fighting a small boy.

The arena fought on the 200th floor was certainly more respectable than the dingy arenas they had previously battled in. It was a wide space with thick white cement tiles and had dozens of spotlights shining down on it. It was positively packed with an audience surrounding it who jeered and cheered before the match even began.

Killua and Miwa purchased tickets to watch the match. Their seats were somewhere in the middle. The two friends quietly talked about how good their breakfast was that morning as they waited for Gon's match to start.

Then it began and... well...

It was... uncomfortable to watch, but not unbearable. Gido had no murderous intent behind his actions. Oh, he talked a big game and there was a certain level of sadistic pleasure behind his actions, but there was no desire to kill Gon.

It reminded Miwa more of a one-sided sparring match between a Chūnin and a Genin. There were some more veteran soldiers who brutally beat down Genin under the guise of training.

What made it acceptable was that it always turned out for the better.

Either the Genin would realize they couldn't handle such a lifestyle anymore and dropped out, or they recovered, learned from their mistakes, and came back with a vengeance.

Training in Konoha was meant to be brutal.

If it was lax then it was considered lazy and the Genin would pay the consequences for it.

At least that's what Kurama told her.

Miwa didn't like seeing Gon get beat around—and judging the minor leak of killing intent oozing from Killua beside her he didn't like it, either.

Unfortunately, if Miwa wanted Gon to become strong enough to defend himself training was necessary.

These types of sparring matches would be necessary.

It was better to be done by Gido in this environment than some random scum, or worse Hisoka. Gido would not kill Gon, and there was a referee overseeing the match.

Logically, Miwa could accept this.

Emotionally, Miwa still wanted to rip his head off.

All she could do was sit and watch. And if she started to spike in killing intent she suddenly found that Killua put a tiny little pine-scented candle under her nose and gave her a cheeky grin.

"You're a brat," she told him, sniffing the candle.

"Yep," he said proudly.

**(≧ڡ≦*)**

Gon lost.

It wasn't an entirely one-sided match, but Gido's use of nen gave him a clear advantage over Gon.

To be frank, even though Gon had only recently begun his spiritual training in nen and chakra he did very well. He only broke three ribs, and his right radius and ulna.

 **Came out better than you did when you first started training with my chakra,** Kurama jeered.

Which was impressive and Miwa's opinion of Gon went up a notch. Instead of being a defenseless kitten, he was now a _mildly_ defenseless kitten.

Miwa estimated his recovery time would be a month—although the doctors who examined him after the match insisted on four months. Given Gon's level of energy and the feel of it, Miwa figured Gon was the type to be a quick healer.

After the match's conclusion Gon was whisked away to the nursery then chucked back into his bedroom where Killua and Miwa waited for him to wake up. They only had to wait an hour before their friend was sheepishly rubbing the back of his head and grinning at them. "So... that didn't go as planned."

"You really shouldn't have fought him so soon, idiot," Killua scolded.

"Still, I thought it would be okay. I took a few hits, but I wasn't in mortal danger as long as he didn't hit my vital spots—"

That greatly irritated Killua who shifted his position from sitting on Gon's bed to now digging his heel in Gon's broken arm which was slung in a cast. The pain was so great Gon paled and squirmed under Killua's digging, but his stubbornness refused him to let out so much as a peep or cry of pain.

**Another point for Gon being an M.**

_'Stop it.'_

Only when there was a knock at Gon's door did Killua relent in his torment. Miwa hopped out of Gon's bed—she had been sitting beside him since he was brought in—and opened the door to greet Wing.

"Hello," Wing said, nodding a greeting to Miwa.

"Hello," Miwa returned, opening the door further to allow Wing to enter the room. "Are you here to talk about Gon's match?"

"Yes. I noticed he tried to use nen during it despite not being trained in it."

Miwa had noticed his use of energy during the match, but he hadn't done anything to endanger himself while doing it, so she didn't care too much about it. Incorrectly training in chakra would result in some painful lessons, but they were lessons any Genin would learn. She saw nothing wrong with Gon trying to experiment.

If it blew up in his face, then it blew up in his face.

Judging from Wing's somber expression, Miwa guessed that Wing was very much against having Gon experiment with nen.

She was correct.

He proceeded to give a half-hour lecture to Gon that Miwa honestly couldn't help but tune out on. She only snapped out of her daydreams when Wing called out to her to tell her goodbye.

Miwa blinked vapidly upon his departure, turning back to Killua and Gon. "What?"

"Were you listening at all?" Killua asked her.

"No. I lost interest."

"He made us promise not to do anything past the first stages of nen training," Gon sighed dramatically.

"That's boring."

**(≧ڡ≦*)**

**One month later**

Killua and Miwa sat beside one another on Miwa's bed. Miwa was reading a chapter out loud from some random adventure book Killua picked out for her. Her pronunciations had drastically improved under his tutelage. There were still some things she stumbled upon—certain characters in their odd alphabet she didn't see very often—but she had graduated up to an elementary schooler's knowledge.

When Miwa wasn't studying she had spent her time restocking her essential supplies and setting up her _hiraishin_ network. Her ignorance of the world would only hinder her, and she needed to establish safe zones to teleport to should a powerful opponent appear before them. Every morning for the past month she sent out hundreds of shadow clones that would scour the nearby environment in secret. Another few hundred would teleport to the further _hiraishin_ markers she had placed and begin placing more at further distances.

She had half the continent covered within the month.

While her clones worked on that, Miwa stole essentials. Primarily a _lot_ of ink jars so she could be fully stocked up on chakra ink and start working on some of her weaponized fūinjutsu scrolls—a process Killua gleefully watched with rapt attention.

Gon definitely wanted to learn fūinjutsu, like Killua, but one look at the amount of studying needed to go into it made him do a hard pass.

Suddenly Gon threw open the door to Miwa's room, a sparkle in his dark almond eyes. "I'm all better now! See? See?"

To prove that he had healed all of his bones he proceeded to cartwheel around Miwa's room.

"How the hell are you already healed? What are you made of?"

"Uh, I don't know how to answer that."

"You're weird," Killua muttered, the remark made Gon puff out his cheeks and stick his tongue out at him. "Ah, but since you're here..."

Killua shifted in Miwa's bed, rummaging through his pockets until he pulled out two tickets. "I got tickets to Hisoka's next match."

"Ehh? Are we all gonna go?"

"No," Miwa answered.

"Miwa's being a stick in the mud," Killua dismissed, hopping off the bed to give Gon one of the tickets.

"Why would I care to watch some pathetic clown beat up a stinky maggot?" she retorted. "Besides, didn't you two ask me to finish making the rainbow explosive tags?"

Gon and Killua perked up at the mention of the tags.

"Are you gonna finish it soon?" Gon chirped, hopping up and down in excitement.

"Yes. I need the ink to finish drying before I add the seventh layer," Miwa said, nodding to several dozens of tags scattered out on her room floor to dry.

Making explosive tags normally didn't take too long.

But making explosive tags that only worked for certain people _did_. Especially ones designed that if picked up by anyone else they would immediately self-detonate. _And_ Gon and Killua asked her if they could explode in specific colors.

Gon wanted a rainbow. Killua wanted blue.

Such specifications took time. Time Miwa would gladly devote to making those tags rather than watching a dull fight. Even Kurama had more fun designing different fūinjutsu arrays than watching two low-leveled thugs fight each other.

"I'm gonna blow up _everything_ ," Gon whispered.

 **Why can't** ** _he_** **be my vessel?** Kurama whined.

_'Rude.'_

Miwa's gaze roamed over to the two wallet-sized boxes that rested on the nightstand beside the bed. If the tags she had created for Killua and Gon were a success then she would turn those boxes into fūinjutsu-imprints. Whatever parchment Killua and Gon would place inside of them, after a day they would all become those explosive tags. Miwa planned on storing so much chakra ink inside of it, Gon and Killua would never need to ask her for a refill.

Which was why she had to steal a few tons of ink—all of which were neatly stored in a storage scroll the size of her pinky.

_'Life without fūinjutsu is something I don't want to think about.'_

"Heheheh," Gon giggled to himself. He reached forward to take one of the tickets Killua offered out to him, but then pulled his hand back with a wince. "Actually, I can't go. Wing told me not to, remember?"

"He doesn't have to know," Killua pointed out.

"I promised him. I can't break a promise."

**Ugh. Never mind. He's one of** **_those_ ** **.**

Killua rolled his eyes. "Whatever. You both suck."

Miwa and Gon stuck their tongues out at Killua.

**(≧ڡ≦*)**

**Three days later**

Gon and Killua had been advised to resume their proper nen training after their month-long practice on the first stage. That also meant they were back to practicing the leaf exercise (much to their dismay).

Hisoka's match had been "interesting" according to Killua, but Miwa genūinely didn't care enough to watch the recording of it. Unless he started blowing up buildings with a wave of a finger he was just a gnat buzzing around her. She had promised Gon not to kill Hisoka—since Gon wanted a proper match against him—so she was concerned if got _too_ annoyed with Hisoka that she'd break that promise and accidentally skin him alive or something.

 ** _Accidentally_**.

On that morning Killua, Gon, Miwa, and Zushi were walking to Gon's room to continue training their nen—well, Miwa was going to keep working on creating fūinjutsu arrays. When they stepped off the 200th floor they were greeted by those creepy adults: wheelchair, pegleg, and snake-fucker. They started doing that gross giggle that made Miwa want to gouge out their throats.

Killua put his hands in his pockets, his tone laced with irritation as he said, "You guys don't know when to quit. This is no way to make friends."

"Oh, now, now... Tell us when you're going to fight, because I'd love to be your opponent," drawled out the snake-like man. His voice was saccharine soft.

"I guess they specialize in hunting newbies. They want to rack up wins by beating us up," Killua sighed.

"We're getting desperate because our deadline is nearing. Come on, let's fight," the snake-man insisted, his tone taking a whiny pitch to it. "I'll even demonstrate my power here for you."

"I'm fighting on June 10th," Gon answered firmly.

"That won't work. My deadline is May 29th. Fight on that day."

"Who cares about your deadline, moron?" Killua snapped. "Let's go." Killua grabbed Miwa's hand, giving her a look when he noticed she had pulled out a senbon. "Damn it, Miwa."

Miwa innocently started to whistle and look away while Gon grabbed her other hand and pulled out the other hidden senbon needle. "Miwa!"

She only whistled louder.

Although thanks to her hearing she didn't miss the snake fucker giggling to his friends as he said, "I'll _make_ him fight me."

**(≧ڡ≦*)**

When it came close to dinner time they decided to break for training. Zushi bade them all goodnight and headed off.

Normally Miwa wouldn't have given it much else thought about Zushi's departure. But when Zushi left, Killua left too. And not in a good mood. It was the same mood he was in back on the airship when he killed those two idiots.

 _'He better clean up after himself,_ Miwa thought, staring at the door where they had left. Gon went to go take a bath, so it was only Miwa in the room.

 **He probably won't,** Kurama said with a yawn.

Miwa chewed on the insides of her cheeks for a moment before she put down her ink brush and decided to follow behind him. She didn't want him to think she was stalking him, so she refrained from just teleporting directly to him.

Instead, she followed his scent out of the tower, onto the streets, and down an alleyway until—

 _'Huh?'_ Miwa was surprised to find that Killua was carrying an unconscious Zushi on his back. She watched the two of them from a nearby rooftop, curious as to what had happened. She could tell Killua was still irritated, but she couldn't smell any blood.

 _'Did Zushi collapse from exhaustion? He didn't look too tired when he left,'_ Miwa scratched her cheek as she thought. ' _But I guess he_ is _still a child...'_

Miwa watched them for a few more minutes before she shrugged to herself and headed back to her room for dinner.

If Killua wanted her to know, he'd tell her.

Although she found it odd that the very next day both boys had apparently signed up for a match against those weird freaks. Despite the fact that both boys agreed not to fight again until they had advanced to the next step of nen and chakra training. Gon had told her offhandedly that morning, and Killua had told her in the afternoon while the two were watching a movie in her room.

"Ehh? Both you and Gon? I guess I better sign up or something now," Miwa muttered.

As soon as Miwa had mentioned Gon had a match as well, he reacted. Had Miwa not been an exceptional kunoichi she would have missed the subtle tightening in Killua's posture. His burst of killing intent was rapidly repressed, but still present enough that a trained assassin could feel it. Miwa raised an eyebrow at him, now more curious to what was going on. "Killua?"

"Who?" Killua asked her, his voice low. "Who is he fighting?"

"That creepy snake dude."

Killua abruptly pushed Miwa's legs off his lap (she had been lounging on him and the couch while they watched the movie) then left the room.

 **What?** / ' _What?'_

Miwa immediately hopped off the couch, she ran her fingers through her loose hair as she stepped out in the hallway. She had been lounging in a cute little nightdress she stole—it was a girlish pink with kitty cats on it—so she smoothed out the wrinkles on it. She wasn't wearing any slippers or socks, she was barefoot out in the hallway as she looked around for Killua.

_'Ehhhh? What the heck is going on?'_

She sniffed him out and felt his chakra down another hallway. Using her enhanced hearing she could hear someone talking down that hallway—most of the contestants had an entire hallway to themselves. She couldn't hear Killua's footsteps, but judging from his chakra he was going closer to the voice.

As Miwa neared she could discern the words said and recognized the voice belonging to that creepy snake-like man.

"In a week I'll beat little Killua for my sixth win. The next day I'll beat little Gon for my seventh win. Then I'll pressure Miwa for my eighth win. I'll only need to find two more suckers— _heheheh_ —and I'll be a Floor Master. I'll get all the money and fame to set me up for the rest of my life—"

Killua's chakra had arrived right on top of that wretched thing's own energy. Killua's voice was softer than a lullaby, and more poisonous than nightshade. It was the first time Miwa had heard Killua speak in such a manner, and it made her heart skip a beat.

"Move, and you die," Killua whispered in that maliciously sweet voice. "Use nen, and you die. Make a sound, and you die. If you understand, slowly close your eyes."

Miwa had completely suppressed her presence and chakra as she neared the room where the two were in. She peered in to find Killua had a knife pointing down at the snake's head while the cretin sat at a vanity desk.

"Do you see what happens when you break a promise?" Killua went on. "If you know, slowly open your eyes. Look at me in the mirror, and listen carefully. Don't ever show your dirty face in front of us again. That's a promise."

When Miwa felt Killua's presence begin to move out the room, she reflexively used her _hiraishin_ to teleport back to her room, hopped onto the couch and pretend like she didn't hear what she heard. Killua returned to her room a few minutes later, promptly sat on the couch and put his legs in her lap, and pressed resume on the movie like he hadn't just gone and threatened someone.

_'Hmm... Well this simply won't do.'_

Apparently that snake fella did something to Killua. Broke a promise and bothered him that much.

 **He really shouldn't have let him live,** Kurama said disapprovingly.

_'I agree. Let's remedy that.'_

**(≧ڡ≦*)**

Miwa excused herself for a bathroom break during the commercial. It barely took her a minute to track down the irritating cretin. Despite the fact that he was in broad public (fleeing, she guessed), she snatched him in between one heartbeat and the next and plopped him on a rooftop. He didn't even have time to process the fact that he had been kidnapped before she chopped off his head, placed it in a spare box she had been using, then teleported back to her room where Killua was making popcorn.

Killua was surprised by her use of teleportation, but then he saw the box and—

"Miwa, what's in the box?" he dubiously asked her.

Miwa held up the head, causing Killua to frown. "Why'd you go and do that? I let him go."

"Why?" Miwa tilted her head. "Didn't he break a promise to you? Didn't he upset you? Why would I let him live?"

Killua blinked in surprise at that, apparently taken aback by her response. " _Me_? You were worried about _me_?"

"Of course," she said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "We're friends. I don't know what exactly is going on, but you were unhappy and I heard you threatened him, so clearly he did something."

"Whoa," he said.

"What?"

"It's just—no one's ever killed _for_ me before," he explained, then he rubbed the back of his head, grinning sheepishly. "Kind of cool."

Miwa's cheeks turned pink. "Oh."

Killua grabbed the severed head by the hair, giving it a once over glance then he grinned wickedly at her. "Wanna cut it in half and put it in those other freaks' beds?"

"Hell yeah!"

**(≧ڡ≦*)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reading about training / arena fights feels so incredibly dull compared to the pumped-up montage music you get to listen to in the anime. This whole arc is basically a training arc. I wanna hurry it up and get to the Phantome Bois for some good ol fashion shenanigans. Very excited for y'all to read Miwa's introduction with them!
> 
>  **For my never-seen-this-before-idk-what's-going-on-readers:** Snake man, pegleg boi, and zoom zoom wheelchair kidnap Zushi to try and force Gon into fighting them before Gon's ready. Killua takes Zushi back and to try and not act like an assassin attempts to peacefully negotiate with them. Killua goes "yo I'll lose to y'all if you leave Gon tf alone." They go "yeyeye" but they went ahead and lied to Gon about kidnapping Zushi to force Gon into fighting early. Killua finds out about it and is Not Happy™ Episode 33 in the anime ~ 20:50.
> 
>  **Answer:** Overkill everything. Pls.
> 
>  **Question:** Who would be your friend/rival if you were the protagonist? I.E. Who would be the Sasuke to your Naruto, the Killua to your Gon, the Ichigo to your Ichigo? :P
> 
> Reviews are **love**!  
>   
> 


	16. Lioness V

Things were dull at the tower for Miwa. She was obligated to participate in one fight to stay in the tower. Unfortunately, when she signed up, Hisoka caught wind of it and decided he wanted to fight her, so—

Miwa stood in the pristine arena, idly twirling one of her pigtails while Hisoka smiled at her from across the arena. Gon and Killua were in the stands, Gon enviously watching on. The crowds of people were chanting something—likely cheering for Hisoka. Miwa couldn't pick out their individual words.

After Miwa had murdered the pale creepy man, Gon and Killua merrily continued with their training to prepare to fight the remaining duo of the creepy trio. Miwa admitted it was funny to see the creepers faces' upon finding out half of their friend's decapitated head was in their beds, but that humor was short-lived when police got involved.

Not that they could find any proof of anything happening. Oddly enough the investigation was only open for a day before they shoved it aside.

Killua guessed the police weren't allowed to look too closely about what happened in the tower.

"I've been looking forward to this since the exams," Hisoka commented. "You and Gon have... caught my attention."

"Uh-huh," Miwa murmured, unimpressed.

"It's a little discouraging to be ignored," he said, his tone teasing and flir—

Miwa's face twinged in disgust. "Were you— _were you about to flirt with me?_

Hisoka's smile was a million times more disturbing.

**Uggghhh.**

The referee cleared his throat. "Ready... Start!"

Neither moved.

' _Gon wants to fight him. I shouldn't hurt too bad',_ Miwa thought, goosebumps crawling up and down her arms as she watched him gaze at her with those _uugggh_ those bloodlust-filled eyes. ' _I hate fighting masochists. So gross.'_

Really the only way she could defeat him while minimizing damages to him would be to use a sedative to knock him out or render him unconscious with one hit.

She really didn't want to directly touch him.

Thankfully, genjutsus were a thing.

And shadow clones.

She spawned thirty clones in the arena.

"WHAT'S THIS?! THERE'S NOW THIRTY MIWA'S IN THE ARENA?!" the announcer's shrill voice drowned out the crowd's surprise. "How is this possible?!"

The clones began to engage in a light bout of taijutsu against Hisoka while Miwa began to apply a multilayered genjutsu over the jester. She had to reluctantly admit that Hisoka was decent at hand-to-hand combat. Despite facing thirty of her clones, he had managed to evade all of their attacks. Granted, none of them were using Kurama's chakra, or any ninjutsu, but it was still impressive given the incredibly low bar Miwa previously set for him.

The genjutsu applied shortly afterward and Hisoka froze in place for a solid ten seconds. Plenty of time for Miwa to throw a paralysis tag on him that immediately took effect. The genjutsu was canceled, but Hisoka could no longer move due to the fūinjutsu tag on his forehead. One of Miwa's clones took that opportunity to swiftly knock him out in one clean hit.

"Knockout! Victory to Miwa," called the referee.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOO! WHO WOULD HAVE SEEN THIS COMING?! Hisoka is now at 9 wins and 3 losses, with Miwa taking her first win. What a powerhouse we have! An overwhelming victory for Miwa."

Miwa turned on her heel and left.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

Her friends were waiting for her in the public area outside the arena. Gon pulled on Miwa's arm spinning her around as he whined, "Teach me, teach me, _teach me_!"

"I already _am_ ," Miwa laughed, easily lifting Gon up with one arm and tossing him in the air. Gon grinned joyously as he landed beside her. "You and Killua have the leaf exercise down, why don't you two try walking vertically now?"

Killua frowned. "Now?"

"Not right here," Miwa said, acknowledging that they were in the middle of the tower and there was a bustle of people around them. "Let's go to a park, start with walking up trees. Don't push yourselves too much since you both have matches with the rest of those freaks."

"Woo-hoo tree walking!" Gon called out, dashing away. "Beat you there, Killua!"

"Hey! You got a head start, you cheater," Killua called out, breaking out into a sprint to catch up.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

Gon and Killua won their next two matches against the surviving duo. It was completely one-sided, neither boys having any bit of difficulty. Wing, impressed by their victories and their training, decided it was time for them to move on to the next stage of nen training.

After a day of training in the park the trio met up with Zushi at Wing's home where Wing began his next lecture on nen.

"We'll begin our study of hatsu today. Once you master hatsu, you will have mastered all the basics of nen. After that, you will need to work on developing your individual nen style. Hatsu is the technique by which you control your aura—or as we have learned your physical energy. In other words, it is the culmination of nen abilities and there are six distinct categories."

Wing wrote them out on the chalkboard behind him.

Enhancer - enhancers strengthen and reinforce natural abilities.

Emitter - emitters propel aura.

Transmuter - transmuters change the quality of aura.

Conjurer - conjurers materialize objects out of aura.

Manipulator - manipulators control objects or things with aura.

Specialists - those with a unique and distinct aura that doesn't fall within the other five classes.

Wing went on, "It's important to find an ability that suits you. Nen abilities are highly personal, with two areas of particular prominence. The first would be your inborn potential. The second would be your potential refined later in life. For example, Gon was born with flexible and springy muscles. His acute senses were honed by the result of a childhood spent in nature. From the moment of birth, your nen abilities fall within one of the six categories. While rare, it is possible for your nen aura to later change types. If you attempt to learn an ability that does not fit the nature of your aura you will have a hard time. I'm sure both of you have already struggled a lot with learning chakra, yes?"

"Chakra is _so_ much harder to use than nen," Gon vehemently agreed.

Wing smiled as he drew a hexagon connecting each of the points he had previously written down.

"This shows the compatibility rate of other auras to learn compared to your own. The closer one is, the easier it will be to learn. If you are born with an aura of the enhancer category you will find enhancer abilities easiest to learn and master. And adjacent transmuter and emitter classes will also be easy to learn. On the other hand, the specialist class which is the furthest away would be very difficult for an enhancer to train."

Killua shifted his weight where he stood. "Is there a way to find out which category your aura falls into?"

Wing smiled patiently. "There is. I have already prepared the test. Follow me over to the kitchen table."

The children did as asked. They gathered in a circle around a small wooden table. At the center was a glass of water filled to the brim with a floating leaf on top. It looked like if so much as a drop of water was added to it, it would overflow.

"Oh no more leaves," Gon sighed.

"Water divination: a Shingen-ryu screening tool for classifying your aura. It is also used in training hatsu," Wing said, ignoring Gon's complaint. "Place your hands around the glass and perform ren. Your ability is revealed by what happens."

Wing placed his hands on either side of the class, conjuring his aura to wrap around it. The water began to multiply, spilling over the glass. He explained, "if the volume of water changes, that means you're an enhancer. This shows that my aura falls within the enhancer class. Okay, now it's your turn."

One by one they tried.

Gon - enhancer (water overflowed)

Zushi - manipulator (leaf twitched)

Killua - transmuter (water turned sweet)

"Miwa, if you're able to, I'd be curious to see what your physical energy would do to it," Wing kindly probed.

' _I'm not very good at separating my physical and spiritual energy,'_ Miwa thought to herself, her brow furrowing as she slowly pulled her spiritual energy back from her chakra.

Kurama must have been interested in the results as well because he pulled out his own chakra from the mixture in order to provide Miwa with a clean sample.

The water darkened to a scarlet red, thickening as the stench of blood began to fill the room. The entire cup of water was overflowing with old, sludgy blood. The kind of blood that oozed out of corpses several days old.

Miwa immediately pulled away from it, wincing at the mess she had made—and the stench.

"A specialist," Wing observed. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. It would be fascinating to see how your nen develops. I hope you'll continue training it."

"I—I suppose it wouldn't hurt to learn something new," Miwa allowed after a moment. "Might be more fun to fight people with only nen."

**More of a challenge at least.**

"Over the next month you should practice water divination until your results are significantly more noticeable," Wing advised all of them. "Good luck."

Luck obviously had nothing to do with training. Killua and Gon had already proven themselves eager—and talented—students. But it was a nice sentiment and the four children let out an enthusiastic _yeah!_

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**One month later**

Training went as well as expected. Killua and Gon showed tremendous results by the end of the month while Miwa had become stagnant. She couldn't pull out her spiritual energy without Kurama's assistance and it embarrassed her.

Wing told her that her initial result was impressive enough to pass his test for her, but encouraged her to keep trying to improve.

Unfortunately for Zushi, his own training had borne nothing.

Killua, Gon, and Miwa had officially completed the basics of training nen.

There was only one thing left to do at Heaven's Arena for the three friends: Gon's fight with Hisoka.

Gon had already picked the time and date, all Killua and Miwa had to do was show up and watch.

It was one of the more sought after fights. Gon's popularity had taken a step up since he won his last few battles, while Hisoka was only one victory away from challenging a floor master. The tickets to see the match were considerably more expensive than any previous match the trio had watched.

Unsurprisingly the arena was jam packed the day of the fight. There was good circulation so it didn't reek of stagnant body odor, but it still made Miwa uncomfortable.

The fight opened up with an eruption of flying fists, quick jumps, and nimble dodges. It was decidedly in Hisoka's favor—Gon simply lacked the experience to fight evenly with him. When Gon realized he couldn't keep up the attacks forever, he jumped back. He picked up a slab of concrete, and shattered it with enough force the debris went flying to Hisoka.

Hisoka stood his ground, chopping and smashing any of the pieces that flew at him. His arrogance refused to let him move a single step, so Gon took that opportunity to hide amongst the debris before coming out with a surprise attack.

Gon delivered a solid punch on Hisoka. The jester was blown back several paces, surprise flickering on his face by Gon's impressive punch.

Then both parties relaxed. Gon pulled out a—badge?—and walked over to Hisoka where Hisoka accepted it.

' _Weird.'_

**Nothing that kid does surprises me anymore.**

"How much of the basics of nen have you learned?" Hisoka asked, his voice a low sultry.

"All of the basics," Gon muttered.

"I see, you must be an enhancer," Hisoka said, pointing a finger at Gon. Miwa had to squint, but she thought he saw that pink ch—nen that Hisoka had shot out from his finger and latch on to Gon. She was sitting too far away to see, each time she blinked it seemed like it kept dissapearing and reappearing.

"Eh? H-How did you know?" Gon asked, dropping his guard in surprise.

Hisoka chuckled. "You're so adorable. You should do a better job of keeping a secret."

"Ehhhh. Shut up. How did you know?"

"It's my personality analysis based on aura type," Hisoka explained. "Although it's not an exact science, it's much like personality profiles based on blood type. Enhancers are simple and determined."

' _He's right.'_

Hisoka gestured toward himself. "By the way, I'm a transmuter. Whimsical and dishonest."

Miwa looked over at Killua, the transmuter assassin who looked away from her gaze and coughed.

' _He's right again.'_

"Emitters are short-tempered. Specialists are independent. Conjurers are high-strung. Manipulators are argumentative."

' _You would be a manipulator, Kurama.'_

**How dare you. I would be a specialist.**

' _Mm-hmm.'_

Their conversation was over, The fight picked back up, but it was noticeably more in Hisoka's favor.

The referee ended up rapidly calling points in a blatant attempt to end the match quickly. Within five minutes Hisoka had won by accumulating more points that Gon. A fact that made Gon puff out his cheeks in annoyance like a chipmunk.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With that match concluded, the three of them had reached an end to their stay at Heaven's Arena. Gon mentioned going back to his home island to tell his adopted mother about his adventures, and he cheerfully invited Miwa and Killua to join him.
> 
> As if Miwa and Killua weren't already going to follow him anyways.
> 
> **(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**
> 
> Wanted to wrap this arc up quickly to move on to my favorite one. Phantom Troupe next! I'm so excited~ I adore them.
> 
>  **Answer:** I would love a Killua to my Gon.
> 
>  **Question:** A side character you wished had more screen time? Any anime/book/videogame/etc.
> 
> Reviews are **love**!


	17. Wolf-Spider I

_Greed Island._

That was the trio's current objective.

They had taken a nice vacation at Gon's home island. While there, Gon's aunt had given them something left behind by Gon's father, Ging. One thing led to another and now they had to hunt down a game made by Hunters for Hunters called _Greed Island_.

Ging had challenged Gon to find him, and the first clue was on that island.

That was interesting, certainly, but it wasn't what weighed on Miwa's mind as the trio journeyed to Yorknew City.

No.

Meteor City nagged at Miwa.

While Gon went to pick up groceries at his aunt's request, Miwa and Killua stayed behind. Miwa had taken the opportunity to peruse through their books as a test to see what she could read.

Miwa flipped through a geography book, pleased with herself that she could pick out a few words. She tried to pronounce some major countries out loud—Killua had to correct her several times. There was one passage that caught her attention, though. Mostly due to how short it was.

All the previous chapters were walls of text and pictures. The one Miwa currently stared at was barely a paragraph long and only had a dot on the map to show where it was.

"M-Meteor City?" Miwa guessed, squinting hard at the name.

"First try, good job," Killua praised.

"It's so small," Miwa squinted at it.

"The actual area is pretty big, but it's not worth traveling to so it's only marked as a dot. All that wasteland surrounding it is part of it. It's a junkyard city inhabited by outcasts," Killua explained to her.

"Outcasts?"

"Unwanted."

Miwa gripped at the book, a faint bitter memory pulling at her mind.

She couldn't explain what bothered her about Meteor City. Only that it was stuck in her head all the way to Yorknew.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

The game was retailing at 8.9 billion jennies and a few copies would be sold at an underground auction house. They were able to learn that much information from Killua's family and the Hunter exclusive website.

Killua's brother had to give them a secret URL for a Hunter website in exchange for the _Greed Island_ memory card Ging had left behind for Gon. The website was essentially a wealth of information... in exchange for money, of course.

They learned that the game could only be played by nen users, and when and where the auction for it was... as well as the starting pricing now.

"8.9 million is way too much," Killua bemoaned when they closed out of the website.

"It's a waste of time to try and scrounge up money," Miwa muttered. "I can just steal the thing."

"Ehhh," Gon groaned, leaning back in the chair.

"Are you crazy? That whole place is run by several mafias! Even my dad wouldn't try to steal from them," Killua said.

"Can your dad destroy a mountain with a finger?"

"You're strong, not immortal," Killua said with a roll of his eyes. "It's not about strength, it's about angering the wrong crowd. Make too many enemies and life becomes an annoyance. People constantly coming after you to kill you."

Miwa could see that. "Okay. Fair point. Then I'll _just_ steal the game and I won't get caught."

Killua face-palmed while Gon puffed up his cheeks.

"There's gotta be a way," Gon declared. "I'm sure we could find enough money to buy it."

"Good luck with that," Miwa dismissed.

"We could find some treasures and auction them off!"

Miwa didn't see the point in that at all. "I'd rather use this time to survey the city and learn about the auction."

"Okay," Gon agreed before Killua could start to lecture her again. "Killua and I will try to make up the money."

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

Gon and Killua set off to start finding a way to make money while Miwa decided to learn the city layout. She assessed the building where the auction house was taking place—being sure to leave her _hiraishin_ marks at the roof and around it—then surveyed the surrounding area.

Her stomach growled around noon, telling her to take a break and eat.

As she was assessing one of the nearby shops to decide on a place to eat she picked up a familiar scent. She followed it until she found Kurapika. His nen was stronger than at the exams, but—

 _He's colder,_ Miwa realized. There was a distance in his gray eyes that made Miwa uncomfortable. It reminded her of—

_He was small, tiny, and broken. Young, but forced to be old. It was one of those rare moments when they just couldn't take it anymore and he was crouching in front of her as silent tears of rage slipped out of dark eyes. It was a moment of weakness, and the self-hatred on his face for it hurt her more than any punch could have. She held him, her own small arms not yet big enough, not yet strong enough to support him._

_Blood, tears, and misery awaited him if she couldn't stop the pain_ now _._

_He was getting colder, and she didn't know what to do._

Miwa hadn't meant to, but she had reached forward and hugged Kurapika tightly around the waist. He was bigger than her, and she had used her quick speed to reach him so he was caught off guard by her presence.

"Ah—um—Miwa?" Kurapika carefully asked. "Hello."

Miwa pulled away, embarrassed by her lack of control. "Sorry. Hi. It's nice to see you again."

"Likewise." Kurapika offered a polite smile. "Are you here with Gon?"

"Mm-hmm. He and Killua are off hunting for money," Miwa explained. "What are you here?"

"Lunch break for now," said Kurapika.

"Wanna eat together?" Miwa asked. "I'll pay."

"Sure. Thank you."

"Great. Can you read the menu for me?"

"Uh—sure."

Miwa and Kurapika headed inside the nearest food shop which happened to be a small local eatery. They took a seat at one of the tables in the corner. The bubbly waitress handed them a menu each and Miwa stared at the words. She could probably sound out a few of them, but it looked like the place had come up with some bizarre food names.

She felt her cheeks turn red from her dilemma. She only recognized one of the foods being "burger". She mumbled a soft _sorry_ as she placed her menu down on the table.

Kurapika watched her for a moment, surprise flickering over his face. "Can't read?"

"I'm still learning the language here," Miwa shyly admitted. "Killua and Gon have been teaching me, but it's still a process."

To Miwa's own surprise Kurapika's entire demeanor softened at that. He scooted closer to her to show her his menu. He pointed to the first word at the top left and said, "This says _Dazzling Deluxe Delight_. They've got some odd names for their food here so it probably seems off-putting. Don't worry about it too much, though. Why don't you try reading the second item?"

Miwa stared intently at the characters. She chewed on her lip before she hesitantly started to sound them out, "D-D-Daf?"

"Dave," Kurapika gently corrected.

"Dave," Miwa repeated. "Dave's Dehr—er—Dar—Darren—Daring? Dave's Daring Da-Dast—Dest—Dist—Dast—" Miwa became increasingly flustered as she stumbled over the odd word. "Dest—Destiny?"

"Destination. Very close," Kurapika praised her.

"My aren't you two cozy? Boyfriend and girlfriend?" asked the waitress when she came back with their waters.

"Um, no," Miwa answered, looking over at the unfazed Kurapika. She hadn't given him much thought other than he was Gon's friend and he had some kind of tragic backstory. The waitress giggled an apology before taking her leave.

 **If he was a girl he'd have been your type in your past life,** Kurama remarked

' _I liked girls?'_

 **A little more than boys for a time,** Kurama answered. There was a pause, and from his tone Miwa could feel reluctance as he said, **You lost the ability to feel attraction at a young age.**

Attraction...

Miwa considered it.

' _Have I felt it before?'_

**You can now, at least.**

' _Is that a good thing?'_

**I—I hope you do. Falling in love is a stupid human thing, but it's a stupid human thing you never got to do.**

' _Okay. I'll properly consider it.'_

**It can't be with an idiot.**

' _Okay.'_

**They can't be stronger than me.**

' _Okay.'_

**They have to be good to you.**

' _Okay.'_

**If they try to kill you we kill them.**

' _Okay.'_

**They have to say they like foxes more than cats and dogs.**

' _Okay.'_

Kurapika gently touched Miwa's shoulder, his gray eyes surprisingly kind. "Are you okay? You seemed lost in your thoughts."

"I've never had a boyfriend or girlfriend before," Miwa told him. "I was thinking about it."

Kurapika was startled by that. He blinked once, twice, then recovered. "Oh. Are you wanting one?"

"I've never fallen in love. I guess I'm obligated to try it at least once before I die."

"Ah. Good luck with that."

Miwa shrugged. "Have you?"

"No," Kurapika admitted. "It is not something I have considered."

Miwa nodded, not surprised. She certainly hadn't given it much thought, why would anyone else? She had far more important things to focus on like learning the language, trying new foods, and going on adventures with Killua and Gon. She could worry about that love stuff when she was older.

Miwa offered up a—what she hoped was—friendly smile to Kurapika. "So since you're on a lunch break that means you have a job here?"

"Mn." Kurapika didn't look like he wanted to elaborate on his job. "What about you? Got plans in Yorknew?"

"I'll be robbing the auction."

Kurapika stared at her. "What?"

"I'll be robbing the auction," she repeated. "Do you want anything?"

"Uh—um—" Kurapika could only stare at her in disbelief. "You do know who is running the auction."

Miwa raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. Mafias."

"And you know how powerful they are?"

"Yeah. What's your point?"

"Did you tell Gon and Killua?"

"Yeah."

"And they're okay with it?"

"No."

"Ah."

Kurapika stared at her for several more seconds before he cracked a small half-exasperated yet half-amused smile. "You're a very odd one, Miwa."

"I guess. Are you ready to order?" Miwa asked him.

"Yes."

"Good. Make sure you order something hot to drink," she told him.

Kurapika blinked in surprise. "Why?"

Miwa looked at him as if the answer was obvious. "To warm you up of course. Your heart's too cold. You should take better care of it."

He gave her another funny look, but he felt a bit warmer than before.

' _Silly boy.'_

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

The next day she wandered around the marketplace with Gon and Killua. She told him how she had run into Kurapika on his lunch break—eliciting surprise from Gon—and they told her how they ended up wasting a lot of their money hunting for treasures to sell.

While going through the outdoor market Killua mentioned that Gon and Miwa really ought to have a phone by now. Miwa's reading skills had improved enough she could at least unlock the phone and make an emergency call. If they got a phone with text to speak she'd be in the clear until she properly learned the language.

They stopped by a phone stall, and the seller immediately tried to sell the pink one to Miwa.

"Don't bother," drawled a familiar voice.

The three children turned around to find Leorio, in his blue suit and tie, standing behind them.

"That feature doesn't work in many countries, and it isn't even waterproof," Leorio added. "That model's only good for making phone calls."

"Leorio!" Gon happily greeted him.

"Yo," Leorio said with an easy grin. He approached the stand and assessed the phones. "I would recommend... this Beetle-07."

He picked up a phone that looked like a purple beetle and Miwa immediately turned her nose up in disgust.

"It's a little heavy and pricey, but it translates two hundred languages used worldwide," Leorio explained.

"What? Really? Get this one, I'll get one too!" Killua exclaimed.

"Hard pass," Miwa deadpanned.

"How come?" Gon gasped.

"It's not cute," Miwa said flatly. "I have been spoiled by cute things in my life and I refuse to go back."

"Cute, huh?" Leorio rubbed at his chin. "Hmm... Then how about this one? The Totoro-93? A lot more expensive, but it's about the same as the Beetle-07."

The Totoro-93 was shaped like a beloved movie character that Miwa had seen a lot of posters about. It had a more blue tint to it than the character, but it was definitely cute enough to pass. Miwa had a lot more money to burn than the boys since she didn't waste it trying to buy treasures yesterday.

"Yes," Miwa agreed.

"Okay, two new Beetle-07's, and one Totoro-93 will come up to 1 million jennies."

" _ARE YOU CRAZY?!"_ Leorio shouted and thus began an hour-long haggle where he halved the total price, and drew an impressive round of applause from the audience that had gathered.

Miwa was very happy with her new phone. It wasn't furry—one of the requirements to being cute—but it had a cute enough vibe to it. She supposed there could be some things that were cute that didn't have to be fluffy like Kurama.

Her entire worldview shifted with that decision. Cute things did not have to be animal exclusive.

Cute. Things. Did. Not. Need. To. Be. Fluffy.

Mind-blowing.

Miwa spent the remainder of the day reassessing the world around her and categorizing what could now fit in her Cute List™.

Gon, Killua, Leorio, and Miwa headed out of the market to grab some lunch. While they ate they caught Leorio up on what had happened: Heaven's Arena, nen training, Gon's fight with Hisoka, finding Ging's open taunt to Gon to come find him. Since it was starting to look like it would rain they headed back to the hotel the trio of children were staying out to drink tea and finish chatting.

Leorio was aghast by the starting price, but he was with Gon on trying to make money rather than just letting Miwa steal it.

But she was going to steal it regardless. The more they told her not to, the more she wanted to do it.

At seven o'clock Miwa hopped out the window without alerting her friends she was leaving then she used _hiraishin_ to teleport to the top of the building where the underground auction was being held. The auction was being held at an impressive building and already Miwa could sense a bunch of nen users inside. None of them had particularly impressive cores, though, so Miwa didn't feel threatened in the slightest bit.

' _Better safe than sorry,'_ Miwa thought. She did a quick henge to look like she was wearing all black ninja clothes with a fox mask on top. Even if someone saw her, they wouldn't think she was a blonde little girl.

She wasn't very familiar with the technology used there. Killua had told her a lot about things called security cameras and alarms. Alarms didn't mean much—so what if they knew she was there if they couldn't actually catch her? The camera's were confusing though. Gon had taken a picture of her with a henge on and it made her very blurry in the photo—she only looked like a blob of darkness, really—but that meant _something_ showed up on camera. Even if they couldn't identify her.

Miwa could only do her best to avoid what she saw. There were guards on the rooftop, but she slipped by them with her kunoichi skills. Down the hallways she went.

' _Now to find the treasure!'_ Miwa thought excitedly. She had absolutely no clue where it was, but she had a _lot_ of chakra to summon shadow clones and a solid four hours before the event started. Her shadow clones could henge into guards they spotted as need be, too.

Even with that major advantage the hotel was simply _that_ huge that it still took Miwa and her hundreds of clones an hour to find the spot. It was pretty out of the way, but a clone placed a _hiraishin_ mark nearby it before dispelling so Miwa could transport right to it.

' _Now how do I open this without triggering that alarm thing Killua said all vaults have?'_ Miwa thought to herself. ' _Hmm...'_

 **I think I have an idea,** Kurama purred. **Use my chakra.**

' _Your chakra?'_

**Technology has always had difficulty dealing with the chaotic energy of my chakra. If you transform my chakra into electricity, I'd bet one of my tails it will cause a malfunction.**

' _And that'll make it not work?'_

**Yep.**

Worth a shot.

Miwa placed her hands on the door and channelled Kurama's chakra through and around it. It was diluted enough that it wouldn't directly affect the door, but were some sparks flying all around it. The lights in the hallway flickered and the door miraculously opened up.

' _If that hadn't worked I would have drilled underneath it,'_ Miwa thought.

**That would have worked, too.**

Miwa entered the room, surprised to find such an abundance of items. The door shut behind her, the lights flickering back on as things somehow returned to normal.

' _Technology is surprisingly resilient.'_

**Better than our old world.**

Miwa pulled out the first of her dozens of storage scrolls she had stashed in the messenger bag she brought. For every item she stole she'd leave behind a shadow clone version henged to look like it so they wouldn't catch on right away. She wanted plenty of time to escape, after all!

She did actively try to search for the game _Greed Island_ with her clones first, though. That was the whole point of her stealing. She didn't really understand what a video game was, but Gon said it was like a smaller movie case.

"Hmm."

She meticulously went through the pile, adding things and replacing them with cloned versions.

' _I don't see the game. And this is only one room. Now that I think about it, isn't the auction supposed to go on for ten days?'_

 **More than likely they only bring a certain amount to the site to be auctioned off,** said Kurama.

' _Damn. Guess I'll have to keep coming back if I don't find the game.'_

**Maybe you'll get lucky and it's here.**

' _We both know I'm not that lucky.'_

Kurama barked out a laugh.

' _Ah.'_

One of the shadow clones Miwa had stationed around the hotel popped, informing her and Kurama that the auction was starting. She had several clones—henged as guests—inside the main room to watch the auction unfold. On the off chance there was another treasury room that Miwa missed and they auctioned off _Greed Island,_ she wanted to see who bought it so she could kill them and give it to Gon.

She had finished putting the real treasures in her storage scrolls already and only had to wait for the door to leave.

Still—

She wanted to see if anyone could spot her fakes right away. She decided to use her _hiraishin_ to teleport just outside the vault. She used a simple genjutsu to make people not notice her. The genjutsu was useless against sensors, or those with superb senses of smell, but for civilians it was fine. No one would hear or see her with it on and she could monitor their reaction to seeing the vault.

If someone could spot her shadow clones at a glance, that was important information to have as soon as possible.

A clone popped.

It had not popped on its own.

It had been killed, and its rush of memories startled Miwa.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**A brief interlude with the clones**

It appeared that a very cute boy with dark hair had stepped up onto the stage in front of an extremely large and _not_ cute man. The cute boy with cold eyes flatly addressed the audience with, "Uh, welcome everyone."

The cute boy's face transformed into something dark and cruel that immediately perked Kurama's interest as he watched the clone's memories.

"Let's forego the formalities."

The dark haired boy covered his ears as the giant main stretched out hands bigger than Miwa and—and his fingers literally popped off to reveal a hollowed metal inside. He proceeded to shoot bullets of nen at the entire audience. The first clone had been in the front row and had no time to react before getting a face full of nen bullets and popping in a puff of smoke.

The second and third clones had reacted well enough to immediately use the other humans as meat shields. The third clone decided to play dead, while the second one chose to wait it out. The third clone was able to successfully escape through the door. There had been a black haired girl with glasses waiting for it, but the clone was too quick for the girl to notice. It made it all the way outside before popping to inform Miwa about the other girl.

The second clone had lost control of its henge, revealing the true form of Miwa. It hid under the corpses and in the sea of blood. It listened as the black haired girl entered the room and conjured some kind of monster vacuum.

The black haired girl said to her vacuum, "Suck up all the corpses and their blood, body parts, and personal possessions from the room. Grab the chairs too."

The clone had thought to itself, ' _Holy shit that's so freaky_.'

With such ease the vacuum began to suck up everything. Even Miwa hadn't perfected her storage scrolls to be able to do it _that_ effortlessly. Blood would still remain in the carpets with Miwa's storage scroll, but not with that girl's vacuum.

' _I need to learn how she does that.'_

The cute boy's soft voice carried in the room as he said, "Shizuku's nen ability is always entertaining to watch."

' _Shizuku. The black haired girl with glasses and vacuum is Shizuku. Shizuku.'_

"Oh?" mumbled the large man.

The vacuum was only mopping up the dead, so the living were left. There was one man they had found alive.

"Someone's alive," the black haired boy was amused.

"Wh-Who are you?" the dying man questioned as he struggled to even breathe. "Doesn't matter. You're all dead. The community will destroy you. Your family! Torture you... Cut you up. You'll taste hell—"

The man was cut off as the clone witnessed the cute black haired boy move with speed that Miwa hadn't seen from _anyone_ other than Netero since waking up. He cleanly sliced off the man's head with only one hand and did it with such ease and grace that not a single drop of blood was left on him.

The clone of Miwa gasped in amazement, drawing attention to itself. Well, it was the only thing left.

"A kid?" questioned the large man as the black haired boy turned to coldly glare at her.

The clone of Miwa grinned foxily at them, stood up and bowed politely. "That was a very impressive performance."

"Care for an encore?" the black haired boy cruelly asked her with a twisted smile.

"Sure," the clone said. "If I can have your name first. I was taught it was good manners to give the dead your name."

"Feitan," he politely returned as he chopped the clone's head off. The clone hadn't made any move to stop him, more interested in obtaining information than preserving its life. It disappeared in a puff smoke, laughing in delight as anger and realization flickered across the cute boy's face.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**Back with Miwa**

While that was happening with the clone a man had come along and literally put all the cloned goods in some kind of dimensional pocket. Shadowclones weren't meant to be held in pocket dimensions so they immediately dispelled. The man who took the goods didn't appear to be a thief—he was escorted by the guards—so Miwa didn't bother to tail after him.

' _He was super cute,'_ Miwa thought after she finished reviewing all the clones' memories.

**Absolutely not.**

' _What? You_ told _me—'_

**No.**

' _But—'_

**No.**

'... _Okay.'_

**Why would you even think such a sadistic man like that is cute?**

' _Because I love you the most and he reminded me of you.'_

**I—**

Kurama couldn't really argue with that. He had only himself to blame. He was too amazing. It was only right that Miwa compared every potential partner she could have to him, and they would all come up short.

Kurama came to a sinking realization that making Miwa's original life's wish of having a family come true would be harder than he anticipated.

Miwa watched under her genjutsu as more people showed up at the vault. They killed the guards stationed at the door and blew the door open. They weren't happy at all when they saw it was empty.

' _They must be with those people in the ballroom,'_ Miwa concluded. She decided to tail them.

She almost got caught when one of them—a big, burly man with wild hair, hairy arms, and a feral demeanor—sniffed at the vault and muttered, "Reeks of a girl."

' _Oh, shit.'_

Someone with an excellent nose could smell her through the genjutsu. Miwa applied a third layer to genjutsu to deal with that issue. She decided to lay back and give the group a heads start just in case they could still smell her through the genjutsu. She counted to fifteen minutes then tracked them down.

She followed the group through the building, up to the roof, where a pretty lady with crazy pink hair was waiting for them in a hot air balloon. Miwa watched them board and take off before she leapt onto the basket, and used her chakra to sit upside down on it.

' _Wonder where they're going,'_ Miwa asked as she looked up—er down?—at the city below her.

She listened to that burly man make a phone call.

"... No, the vault was empty. According to the auctioneer, the only one who knew the situation, all the items were relocated somewhere else before we arrived. It's as though they expected this to happen."

The person on the other phone spoke, but Miwa couldn't hear them over the wind.

"Don't you find the timing to be perfect?" muttered the grizzled man. "We have a Judas among us."

Another one spoke, his voice low and smooth. Miwa thought it might have been the guy dressed like a samurai, but she didn't dare poke her head above to confirm. "You're saying one of us is a traitor?"

The person over the phone talked again.

"No, nobody's like that," sighed the burly man.

Silence again.

"Huh?" A pause. "That's true."

A longer pause.

"I don't get how this information is traveling. Whatever. So what do we do?... Yeah, we asked the auctioneer where the merchandise went but he swore he didn't know up until he died. Feitan tortured him, so he wasn't lying."

Feitan's soft voice was hard to hear over the wind. "He had the worst luck of them all today."

"... You bet I did," the big man told the person over the phone. "The auction is run by the Mafia community heads who lead gangs in each of the ten districts around the world. They're called the Ten Dons. This is the only time that all ten gather in one place to discuss business and issue orders. Their commands are carried out by a special force, the Shadow Beasts. This team consists of each don's best combatants... That's right, I heard that a single Shadow Beast member turned up at the vault. The twenty-five square-meter safe was packed with items ready to be auctioned off. The Shadow Beast walked in, then walked right back out, empty handed. But the safe was emptied when the auctioneer looked in. It was a man in sunglasses, calling himself Owl."

' _That must have been that strange man who came by. His nen didn't feel very special. Certainly smaller than the people in the balloon.'_

"We can take them on right?"

The one over the phone must have responded positively because the man started to laugh in wicked delight.

' _Looks like I'm going to have_ quite _the story to tell Gon and Killua,'_ Miwa thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**
> 
> Cute things are cute. Killua and Gon are cute. Kurama is the cutest. These are her standards.
> 
> Feitan has Kurama's cruelty and looks like a combination of Killua and Gon so he had made the Cute list.
> 
> **Miwa official cute list:**
> 
> Kurama
> 
> Foxes
> 
> Killua
> 
> Cats&Dogs
> 
> Gon
> 
> Totoro
> 
> Flowers
> 
> Soft things
> 
> Totoro-93
> 
> Feitan
> 
>  **Answer:** Gengar in every Pokemon story ever. Anyone keeping up with Twitlight Wings?
> 
>  **Question:** What would make your top three in your cute list?
> 
> Reviews are **love**!


	18. Wolf-Spider II

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

The thieves had chosen to land in some canyon. Miwa had hopped off when they began to descend, and she currently hid by the deflated balloon. The rest of the group had hopped down one level and waited for the chasing mafia members to find them. A hundred or so men and women in tuxedos had gathered at the bottom of the canyon, and the group of thieves looked down on them.

Miwa couldn't see their faces, but she could hear them.

"There's a whole crowd," laughed the boy with blond hair.

"I don't have to clean this up, do I?" Shizuku asked.

"No, they don't matter," answered Feitan.

"Oy, stay out of this," growled the burly man. "I'll handle it."

The man slid down to the bottom of the canyon.

Miwa couldn't hear anything at the bottom since she was too far away and the wind was very strong at the top of the canyon. She laid flat on her belly, looking down the ledge.

 **Popcorn would be nice,** Kurama commented, and Miwa agreed.

What happened next could only be described as a one-sided massacre as the burly man used his bare hands to snap necks, and rip the mafia members apart limb from limb.

"His philosophy is to be stronger than anyone. A mere bullet wouldn't phase him," mused the samurai.

"Physically, he's the strongest," agreed the blond boy.

The largest man with the gun fingers muttered, "It's like watching a gorilla stomping ants."

"Oh?" the samurai gestured off in the distance where more cars had arrived. "They just keep coming."

"They came all the way here just to die?" laughed the big man.

"Just watching isn't any fun," the blond boy said. "Wanna play cards?"

"Sure," the pretty pink haired lady said. Miwa thought her hair looked really soft and she wondered what it would feel like to touch it.

They all sat down and started to doll out the cards.

Their game of cards was way more interesting than the slaughter below.

Why?

Because they kept trying out cheat each other. Miwa was admittedly very impressed with their underhanded skills. She wasn't very good at Bullshit—the game they were currently playing—but she thought it looked like great fun.

' _I wish I could play,'_ she thought.

She decided to ask if Gon and Killua would play with her when she got back.

She learned their names as they played.

The burly man fighting with Uvo. The blond boy with a cheerful voice and cruel eyes was named Shalnark. The pretty pink haired lady was named Machi. Samurai man was Nobunaga. Man with gun fingers was named Franklin.

Miwa did her best to commit their names to her memory.

Suddenly there was a vibration in her back pocket. It startled Miwa and she pulled out her Totoro-93 phone. It took her a minute to remember how to get to the messages, and another minute to work through what it said.

 **From** : Killua

 **Message** : _Where are you?_

' _I guess I should probably head back. It is kind of late,'_ Miwa thought as she squinted at the time on the phone.

**Got their scents memorized?**

' _Yep.'_

**Then you can track them down later if you're bored enough.**

Miwa agreed then teleported back to the hotel room.

"Where have _you_ been?" Killua asked when Miwa appeared on their shared bed.

"I—" Miwa started, but then stopped, wondering where she should even begin to describe the crazy events she had witnessed. She fished around in her messenger bag for a moment before pulling out the scroll she used to steal all the items.

Gon hopped out of his bed, frowning curiously at the scroll she was holding up. "What's that, Miwa?"

"All the items that were supposed to be auctioned off tonight," she said, eliciting surprised looks from her friends.

The surprise didn't last long, though.

Gon was immediately rushing toward her, eyes sparkling with bright curiosity and admiration. "Whoa! You stole everything?! So quick?! Did you get caught? What happened? Tell me, tell me!"

"Are you an _idiot?!_ You just made yourself the number one target of the entire mafia!" Killua scolded, his tone conveying anger and concern.

"Yeah, no—um—someone else is taking the credit for it," she started to say. "Or at least they blame someone else. Um... you guys _have_ to listen to this."

Gon and Killua exchanged glances.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

"And the guy had a spider tattoo on his back?" Killua asked to clarify when Miwa was done explaining.

"Uh-huh."

"That would be the Phantom Troupe then," Killua told her then grinned. "Of course the mafia will think they did it. Who are they more likely to believe stole all their stuff? A well-known group of thieves, or one girl?"

"Sounds like you had a lot of fun," Gon said, tossing the storage scroll up and down. "Did you find the game?"

"I don't think so," said Miwa with a headshake. "To be honest I don't know what to do with any of the stuff I got."

"My mom has some connections. She could probably pawn it off," Killua mentioned.

"Then I guess I'll send it over to her. Well, first I need to steal _everything_ ," Miwa corrected. "Ten days of auctions so there's still nine more attempts to get the game. Unless I can find out where they're stashing _everything_."

Gon grinned at her. "Or unless we come up with enough money to properly buy it."

"Yeah," Miwa deadpanned, not believing for a second they would. "Good luck with that."

Miwa stretched out her arms and yawned.

Gon smiled at her. "You must be tired. Why don't we go to bed?"

"Okay." Miwa said, rubbing at her eyes before starting to change into her pajamas.

" _Stop changing in front of us,_ " Killua hissed as he quickly grabbed Gon and fled to the bathroom so she could finish changing. Miwa always thought that was silly, but whatever.

She changed into her cute pink night dress she bought back in Heaven's Arena then hopped into the only bed. Only a single room was available due to the auctions going on, so the three of them were going to share. Not that any of them minded. It was well known that Miwa was a comfortable heater who liked the cuddles. Gon liked to cuddle too. Killua had been pretty stiff at first, but he was starting to get comfortable with Miwa curling into him.

"Done changing," Miwa politely told the boys who came back in. Killua hopped into bed with her, and Gon flopped on the other side.

"Nighty night," Gon said, as he reached over and turned off the lamp.

"Sweet dreams," Killua said, pulling the covers up over them.

' _I get to sleep in a cute dress between two cuties,'_ Miwa thought, very happy. She wished they were fluffy like Kurama, but oh well. ' _This has been a fun day.'_

Kurama did not purr in a traditional sense, but he let out a rumble of amusement very similar that lulled Miwa into such sweet dreams.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

In the morning Miwa woke up second. Killua had always been the first to wake up, so he was already out of bed. Gon was snoring, clinging on to her like a pillow and she carefully removed herself to not wake him.

Miwa hopped onto the couch at the end of the bed where Killua was flipping through a big book.

"What's that?" Miwa whispered as to not wake Gon.

"The auction catalog. If you're going to steal the game, might as well try to figure out which auction it's going to take place at."

Miwa blinked. "Wouldn't it be at the same place?"

"All auctions in the city are run by the ten worldwide mafia groups," Killua began to quietly explain, "but each is broken into different sections. Not all the auctions are underground like the one you stole from last night. It looks like the one that is selling _Greed Island_ is a public one."

"Oh," Miwa said. "When is it going up?"

"Later in the week. You should hold off on stealing anything else from this auction," Killua said, holding up the book so Miwa could see the title. "It says Southernbees. Memorize this word so you don't steal from it. If they're too flighty we might lose our chance to grab the game at all."

"Southernbees," Miwa repeated, focusing on the word. "Southernbees. Okay. Avoid stealing from Southernbees."

Killua gave her a smile. "Good. How's your reading coming along?"

"Better-ish. Do you want to practice more fūinjutsu?"

"Sure!"

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

Killua and Miwa practiced fūinjutsu for another hour before Gon woke up and the three enjoyed breakfast. Killua and Gon told Miwa how that mafia sent out a bounty hunt last night for the Phantom Troupe members, believing them to be the culprits.

Miwa giggled at that, proud of herself. Killua flicked her nose and warned her not to get a big head. Once they finished breakfast Killua and Gon headed back out to fairly earn money, while Miwa went to learn more about that Southernbees auction. If she was lucky she could find out where the games were being hidden and grab them all!

A part of her did wonder if maybe she should try to find those thieves again. She wanted to see the look on their faces when she told them _she_ stole everything. She especially wanted to see the look on Feitan's face, as she felt like he would be extra mad at her. That would be funny. She always thought it was amusing when Killua got flustered and angry at her when she started stripping.

' _Now the thieves have a bounty on them. I wonder how mad they are?'_ Miwa thought, giggling again to herself.

 **They'll definitely be trying to find you,** said Kurama.

' _That's fine! I want to meet them again one day.'_

Miwa wandered about the city, asking questions to some strangers about the Southernbees auction. Not many had good information on it, only the basics like where it was being held and when.

' _If I could find a person that worked there I could track them,'_ Miwa thought to herself, wondering how exactly she was supposed to do that in a giant city that used a language she could barely read.

She even felt too embarrassed by her lack of skill in reading that she couldn't muster up the courage to order lunch by herself. She had become too reliant on Gon and Killua doing that for her.

Then she came across a dessert shop with a long line that made her mouth water. She hesitantly approached the lady up front who told her that there was a waiting list and that she could put Miwa on it.

"They'll call you when a table is ready for you," the nice lady told Miwa. "What's your number?"

After Miwa gave her the number she quickly pulled her phone out to see if Gon and Killua would eat with her. She felt uncomfortable at the idea of sitting alone in that fancy dessert shop struggling to read a single item on the menu.

 **To** : Killua & Gon

**[Formed Group Message with Gon & Killua]**

**Message** **[Miwa]** : _can you eat me!_

 **Message [Gon]** _wat haha_

**Message [Killua]** _Do you want us to eat *with* you?_

**Message [Miwa]** _yes_

**Message [Gon]** _that sounds way more boring_ (◕ヮ◕)

**Message [Killua]** _What time?_

**Message [Miwa]** _3 ? . !_

**Message [Killua]** _Come get us at 2:30._

**Message [Miwa]** _hankers_

**Message [Gon]** _welcers_

**Message [Killua]** _*Thank you & *you're welcome. Stop encouraging bad habits, Gon._

**Message [Gon]** _eat me_

**Message [Miwa]** _eat me_

**[Killua has left the group chat]**

Miwa could easily picture Killua's look of frustration and it made her giggle. Killua was extra adorable when his cheeks turned red.

She was happy and relieved her friends would eat with her. All she had to do now was kill a couple of hours of time waiting to teleport to them at 2:30.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**Meanwhile with Killua and Gon...**

Killua, Gon, and Leorio had hurried over to a café on the far side of the city. They had information that someone spotted members of the Phantom Troupe and went to ascertain. The three of them took seats at an indoor café that overlooked the outdoor cafeteria below.

They could spot the two Phantom Troupe members at once—a woman with long pink hair, and a man with long black hair.

Killua only needed to look at them once to understand it would be difficult—maybe impossible—without Miwa. Killua had been raised and trained to immediately ascertain the power levels of those around him. He was exceptionally good at it, and it was one of the traits he was proud of himself for having.

The Troupe members at that table were strong.

Miwa was absurdly stronger, but they were still strong enough that Killua didn't have confidence in handling them alone.

Leorio held up a finger at the table. "We should decide our next move. How do we catch those two?"

"That's impossible," said Killua. "They're out of our league."

"What the hell? We won't know until we try," Leorio said angrily. "And why are you saying this now?"

"Quit fussing, they'll notice us," Killua sharply warned before softening his tone back to normal. "But it's still true. I knew it as soon as I saw them. My dad killed one of the Spiders for a job before. It was one of the few times I've ever heard him complain. He said it wasn't worth the money—that's the highest compliment he can give to a target. And he told us to stay away from the Troupe. It'd been a few years since he told me, so I thought we might stand a chance..."

Leorio tentatively asked, "They're really that strong?"

"It might help if you pretend there were two Hisokas sitting there."

Gon and Leorio cringed at that image.

"That'd be bad," Gon conceded.

"So what do you think they're here for?"

"A date?" Leorio guessed.

Gon gasped. "Really?"

"No. They're paying close attention to their surroundings. At first, I thought it was just caution because the mafia is after them but in that case they wouldn't be sitting in a public place. They aren't worried at all. They're waiting for someone to find them, acting as bait to draw out their prey."

"So... what do we do?"

Killua carefully considered their options.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**Back with Miwa**

Miwa was excited as soon as it hit 2:30 she teleported straight to the _hiraishin_ on the back of Gon.

To her utter surprise she had teleported into a dilapidated warehouse filled to the brim with Phantom Troupe members. In only a handful of seconds Miwa processed the fact that every member she had seen last night, in addition to new members, were present. She also noticed that Hisoka was there which grossed her out, but she considered him less than cockroach so it was easy to ignore him after the initial thoughts of _ew, ew, ew, ew, ew._ Gon was sitting across the samurai man, Nobunaga, and looked to be in the middle of an arm wrestling match. Killua was standing in front of Franklin and in between Feitan and Machi.

Gon let out an _oh_ of surprise when he saw her, and every Phantom Troupe member reacted tensely upon her arrival.

Miwa couldn't believe it! They were better than she thought.

"Ehh?! You kidnapped my friends just 'cause I stole the loot first?!" Miwa blurted out in surprise, her eyes widening. "How did you even figure out it was me that stole it all?!"

"You!" Feitan pointed at Miwa, his tone cold and furious.

"Ah," the large man named Franklin said, putting the pieces together. "You didn't die."

"That was a clone," Miwa said, looking down at her friends and frowning. "Guys, I'm sorry you got kidnapped because of me."

"Uh," Gon said.

"It wasn't because of you. They had no idea who you were until you told them," sighed Killua.

"The cute one remembers me," Miwa said, tilting her head.

" _Cute?_ " Killua was aghast, his eyes narrowed as his cheeks flushed. It was distracting how much he reminded her of a sulking Kurama which made Miwa want to nuzzle him. "Which one are you calling _cute_?"

Miwa pointed to Feitan. "Him. He's cute. He did a very impressive kill."

"You can't marry him, you're engaged to Killua so you'll teach us both the _rasengan_ and _hiraishin_ ," Gon immediately protested.

Miwa squawked. "Stop telling everyone we're engaged!"

"Are we killing them now?" Feitan asked, glaring murderously at Miwa. She thought that his killing intent was rather nice. Reminded her of Kurama's default malicious chakra. She smiled brightly at Feitan, giving him a wave like Gon had taught her to do when trying to make friends.

Gon told her that it was important to be very friendly, and everyone knew waves were friendly. And thumbs-up.

Miwa gave Feitan a thumbs-up.

"Hold on," the pretty pink lady named Machi cut in sharply. "You. You were there at the auction house?"

"Um, yeah, I saw what you guys did. Watched everything," Miwa admitted. Nobunaga had let go of Gon's hand, and the boy had jumped up to stand beside Miwa, a huge smile on his face.

"That's impossible," Nobunaga said suspiciously. "No one sensed you."

"Um, that big guy—um I think you called him Uvo?—he smelled me. I had to work a little harder to stay hidden. But I hung upside down on your hot air balloon. That Uvo fella talked on the phone with someone for a while, and Feitan said someone had a very unlucky day. Um," Miwa trailed off for a moment before she recounted what she had seen that night.

It took several minutes, as she stumbled over their names a few times.

"... and she cheated in the card game by swapping cards when everyone else looked over at the fight," Miwa finished, nodding to Machi.

"I _knew_ it!" Nobunaga shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at her.

"You knew nothing," Machi dismissed.

Feitan stepped forward, his cold harder than steel as he asked, "Did you see the chain user?"

"Chain user?" Miwa repeated. "I left after that leech dude bit Uvo."

The Spiders seemed to silently exchange glances.

"It's clear she was there that night," Franklin began. "Seems likely she took the loot."

"Very impressive," a blond man Miwa didn't recognize observed. He stood further back from the other troops and had what some might describe a gangster face.

Miwa scratched her cheek. "Um... thanks. So... you didn't kidnap my friends?"

"We got caught tailing them," Gon chirped. Miwa flicked him on the forehead, making him cry out and clutch at the spot she flicked him. "Ow! What was that for?"

Miwa scolded him, "Why'd you go and do something like that? I told you I'd steal the stuff for you, neither of you should be trying to do something dangerous. Killua, you're the smart one, why didn't you stop Gon?"

Killua looked away, clicking his tongue in his annoyance, " _Tch_."

Nobunaga was looking Miwa up and down then grinned. "Hey kid, wanna join the Phantom Troupe?"

"Ehhhhh?" Miwa couldn't help but blush in pleasant surprise. She had to admit joining a prestigious group of thieves sounded _so cool_. She had a _lot_ of fun stealing stuff and she knew she would continue to do so until the day she died. It was delightful to outwit and outmaneuver idiots.

"That sounds so cool," Miwa admitted in a gush, placing a hand over her cheek as she seriously considered their offer. "But—I don't know."

"No!" Killua quickly rejected. "The answer is _no_."

"We don't need a child in the troupe," Fetain hissed.

"She's clearly a good thief," Machi pointed out. "The boss should get a chance to meet her."

Miwa was about to respond to that but her phone went off. "Oh, sorry, one moment."

She hit the answer button, but accidentally put it on speaker.

"Your table's ready at _Lovely Sparkles and Sunshine_ ," chimed the nice waitress from before.

" _That's_ where you want to eat?" Killua asked, his expression tired.

"Eat me," Gon whispered, eliciting a glare from Killua.

"Thanks, we'll be there shortly," Miwa told the waitress, giving the phone to Gon so he could hang up for her. "Sorry Phantom Troupe, but food is calling. You're supposed to be good thieves, right? So just kidnap me later."

"I don't—" Nobunaga was abruptly cut off when Miwa used her superior speed to grab Killua and bring him back over to Gon.

"Oh, wow none of you reacted," Miwa observed. "Guess you're kind of slow."

"Ooooooo," went Gon.

"You're more likely to be slowed down by them if you joined," Killua told Miwa. "Ignore them."

" _Oooooooo_ ," went Gon again.

"Hmm." Miwa looked back over at the group. "Well, bye for now!"

She then teleported the three of them to the dessert shop where they enjoyed a lovely meal.

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**(Now here is an alternate scenario. One where Miwa is** _**against** _ **the Phantom Troupe because she comes at a different time. Specifically after the arm wrestling match had gone on long enough to seriously hurt Gon. It's all about how she meets them... and how nice they are to her friends.)**

Miwa used _hiraishin_ to teleport directly to Gon.

Imagine her surprise when she teleported inside a ruined, abandoned building, filled with Jounin-level nen/chakra users. She only had a couple of seconds to assess her surroundings and in that time frame she realized that Gon and Killua were with the members of the Phantom Troupe that she had tailed last night, along with a few additional members.

 **What the fuck are they doing here?** Kurama questioned, and Miwa could perfectly picture his exasperated face.

"Who's that?" asked Shalnark, the cute blond boy blinking his green eyes in surprise upon Miwa's arrival.

"M-Miwa!" Gon exclaimed, surprised, his eyes widening. "What are you doing here?"

"Came to pick you guys up," Miwa said, her nose twitching as she caught the scent of—

—her eyes trailed down to—

"Gon?" Miwa inquired, her voice now quiet and cold as she stared at the blood dripping down Gon's hand. The injury was not something quick, or gained in a one off fight, but judging by the bruising formation someone had slammed his hand _repeatedly_ into something hard.

The leftover stench of fear and anxiety still clung onto Gon and Killua's clothes, and they screamed something awful to Miwa.

These adults had attacked, possibly tortured, her friends.

These adults, who had mercilessly slaughtered hundreds only just last night, were likely about to do the same to her friends.

"Mn?"

"Who did that to your hand?" she asked, bubbles of rage popping inside her, warming her to an uncomfortable level.

Gon did not say anything, but his eyes flickered over to a man dressed like a samurai who leaned against a broken off piece of concrete.

 **Time to play?** Kurama asked.

 _Time to play,_ Miwa agreed, and... she... _moved_.

There was no time for any human to react, not unless they had decades of experience in dealing with the _shūshin,_ or faster. These Phantom Troupe members were undoubtedly a cut above regular humans, but they were still human. They were limited to a single ability, and had no further experience in constantly pouring energy through their limbs.

The samurai Miwa moved to attack was certainly strong, and fast. He reacted well enough to raise his right hand in defense, and even fuel such a movement with his nen.

But this man did not have an equal power to match the force behind Miwa's attack.

She dug her heel _hard_ into his hand, sending it careening back into the concrete block, shattering bone and concrete. Within the second afterward she dug her fist hard into his face, breaking his nose.

She was mindful not to shove his nose up and kill him immediately.

It was not out of some kind hearted mercy to make this choice, but out of her pure rage of wanting to prolong his suffering. She would have destroyed his joints next, but that particularly sadistic fellow, Feitan, was already on her.

He was faster than the samurai, and his aura was hot.

Hot like Kurama's base chakra.

It was actually rather nostalgic feeling that heat near her. It reminded Miwa of vague angry flashes of Kurama's chakra burning her skin off to mix in with a cloak of blood and chakra. The complete release of his seal, coupled with sage training, guaranteed Kurama's chakra would never harm Miwa again so it had been a _long_ time since she felt that heat.

She grabbed his hand that had been aiming for her neck, pulling Kurama's chakra with her own and burning his wrist straight down to the bone where she snapped it in half.

In her free hand _chidori_ sparked to life, the lightning sparks chirping a bittersweet song and she dug it straight into his gut.

He was able to land a solid punch atop Miwa's head while she did so, but his strength rapidly drained as she ripped his organs out and kicked him off her.

She carelessly tossed the severed hand away, bloodlust and sadistic fury making her blue eyes glisten with malice. Kurama laughed with glee in her head as the next target tried to stop her.

It was a new person, and judging by the strength of his punch that Miwa had to catch, he was an enhancer type. She burned Kurama's chakra into his fist and summoned the _rasengan_ with her other hand. He made a move to catch her, to stop her hand, but the _rasengan_ tore straight through his other hand, through his aura and flesh, before digging into his abdomen and sending him flying backwards. His intestines spewed out of him like a rogue cotton candy machine.

She moved to the next one, and this one was the black haired girl named Shizuku. Miwa moved to slam her _rasengan_ straight into Shizuku's chest, but then her phone started ringing and the sound startled Miwa enough that she leapt back to Gon and Killua's side.

She pulled out her phone, casually answering it, "Hello?"

The remaining Troupe members rushed to take defensive positions, while that pink haired girl hurried over to Feitan's side.

"Ah," Miwa said, listening to the other end. "Okay, we'll be there in a minute."

She brightened considerably, smiling sweetly at her friends.

"The reservations for the dessert shop are ready!" she chirped. "Ready to go?"

"Yum," Gon said cheerfully, nodding happily.

"Good. Let me just take of one more thing," she said, smiling sweetly. "Want to see the _rasenharo_?"

Their grins said it all.

What a beautiful slaughter!

**RIP Phantom Troupe except the leader who gets to come back to the scene while Miwa &co are enjoying yummy ice cream.**

**(≧** **ڡ≦** ***)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An alternative scenario for those who wanted something more violent.
> 
> See you guys next Monday!
> 
>  **Answers:** Foxes, cats, and gentle worgens.
> 
>  **Question:** Assassin, thief, hunter, or...?
> 
> Reviews are **love**!


	19. Wolf-Spider III

**(≧ڡ≦*)**

After a wonderful dessert-filled dinner the three children headed back to the hotel to talk about their next plan of action.

"I wanna kick their butts," said Gon as he patted his full stomach. "They were really strong, to be honest I'm not sure if we could have made it out without you, Miwa."

Killua yawned, stretching his arms up. "It would have been hard, but maybe doable."

"If you wanna kick their butts you'll have to practice your nen and chakra more," Miwa said.

"We should go find Kurapika then," said Killua.

"Huh?" Gon looked over in surprise. "How come?"

"I was thinking about it over dinner. I'm pretty sure Kurapika is the chain user that killed their friend."

"Kill who?"

"Oh," said Gon before turning to Miwa and filling her in on the details of what happened. Miwa was indignant that they threatened her friends, but Gon and Killua were dismissive over the whole thing.

It was basically another Heaven's Arena situation. Gon and Killua had to face stronger opponents to become stronger themselves. It nettled Miwa, but seeing how unbothered her friends were, she felt reassured.

"If they really hurt you I'll kill them," Miwa sternly said. "No amount of cuteness will prevent me from protecting you two."

"Aww," Gon said, nudging Miwa. "You like us, you really like us."

Miwa's cheeks reddened as she grinned. "Yep! A whole lot."

"More than that Feitan right?" Killua muttered.

Miwa giggled at Killua's question. "What a silly question."

"Ooo, is someone jealous?" Gon laughed.

"Shut up," replied Killua, glaring at Gon.

"Eat me," retorted a snickering Gon.

" _Stop._ "

"Eat me," giggled Miwa.

Killua groaned in frustration. "Why am I friends with you two?"

"Eat us," they said.

**(≧ڡ≦*)**

Miwa offered to send the text to Kurapika. Killua said he had to proof read it for her before she sent it which she thought stunk because she wanted to send _eat me_ to him first. She refrained.

 **To** : Kurapika

 **Message** : _Tell us when you are free. We (Gon, Killua, Miwa) need to talk to you about nen and the Spiders. Also: I did it. :)_

"Ah," Gon said after the message was sent. "I got something for you, Miwa. I left it in the hotel room."

Miwa blinked in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"We were at the market hunting for treasures to sell, and I saw it and I knew it would be perfect for you," he said with a warm twinkle in his eyes.

They headed back over to the hotel where Gon proudly held out a porcelain fox mask that would cover the upper half of Miwa's face. "Ta-da! Perfect for a thief."

Elated, she accepted the mask. She ran her fingers over it, feeling how sturdy and smooth it was. She slipped it on. Not a perfect fit, but close enough.

"You remembered I like foxes?" she asked in surprise.

"Yep." Gon gave her two thumbs up.

Miwa hurried into the bathroom to admire herself in the mirror.

' _If only I was fluffy...'_

An idea occurred to her. She used a henge over herself to give her fox ears and a bushy golden tail.

' _I'm a fox! Lookie, lookie!'_

**Congratulations on improving yourself, kit.**

Bubbles of joy made Miwa smile so brightly the other boys found her happiness infectious.

"I've gotta go back out and steal again tonight," she said. "I want to properly use this mask."

"You'll need different clothes than your regular ones, then. Let's go shopping real quick," Killua suggested.

**(≧ڡ≦*)**

**Brief interlude**

Chrollo Lucifer, leader of the Phantom Troupe, reread his fortune.

Shalnark had been quick to ascertain that the chain-user that murdered Uvogin was from the Nostrade family. The family had risen to high ranks in the underworld due to the head's daughter, a blue-haired young lady named Neon. Neon had a particularly wonderful nen ability that granted her the powers of completely accurate fortunes. She had many important clients in the underworld that granted her family special privilege.

Chrollo had watched the girl for a day, looking for an opportunity to meet her and ideally steal her nen ability. Luck was in his favor, as the girl was anxious to get away from her bodyguards. She had shown him her fortune-telling ability as thanks.

When he had read the first verse of the poem he knew it was perfectly accurate. It had predicted Uvogin's death.

The rest of the poem was easy enough to decipher, it was only the last bit that Chrollo would need more information on before drawing a conclusion.

It was easy to swiftly knock Neon out and slip away in the confusion.

Chrollo knew the mafia would be on his tail shortly. Even if they had not successfully stolen from them the previous night, the mafia would still blame the troupe, and Chrollo had every intention of making tonight's raid a success.

Well.

Chrollo intended for the night to hold _more_ than simply stealing from the mafia.

Uvogin had been taken from them.

In honor of his companion, Chrollo would grant a night of chaos upon the city; one filled with death, mayhem, and gore, that would surely make Uvogin's soul sing in joy where it may be.

Chrollo pulled out the notebook with his fortune written on it, reading it over one more time.

" _The calendar loses a precious component._

_The remaining months gather to mourn._

_The mourners play a melody, while the eleventh moon quietly rises._

_The chrysanthemum withers and falls to lie on the ground beside bloody Scarlet Eyes._

_But you will remain supreme._

_After losing half your limbs_

_Join hands with the golden fox, lead it to the city that fell from the sky_

_It will show you a lifelong sun."_

Chrollo tucked the fortune away in his suit pocket. He did not know yet who or what the fox was, but had a feeling he'd know soon enough.

' _For now,_ Chrollo thought, ' _let's play a melody for Uvogin.'_

**(≧ڡ≦*)**

**Back with Miwa**

Miwa admired her new thief outfit in the shop's mirror, turning left to right to look at it. She anxiously looked back at her friends, a shy smile on her face, "Does it look good?"

Gon, cheerful always, offered her two thumbs up. "You look cool, Miwa."

"Mn. It's fine," Killua agreed, looking her over.

"I guess thieves _are_ supposed to wear black," she said, oddly nervous. She had never put much stock into her appearance previously, but now that she was highly aware of how cute certain people and things were she wanted to fit into her own category. She wanted to be cute.

Gon had picked out a black sleeveless zippered up vest with pockets and matching black leggings. Simple, but that was fine. Miwa didn't need battle armor, or many pockets to carry her scrolls. She frankly didn't need any kind of disguise, but dressing up was part of the fun of it.

Miwa reexamined herself in the mirror. She wouldn't call herself a fashionable person, but she didn't think it looked _bad_. At least it wasn't ugly. She couldn't call it _cute..._

She henged into her fox ears and tail.

' _Okay now it's cute,'_ Miwa happily thought. ' _Um, do you think it's cute Kurama?'_

**Are we still using the previous definition of fur and heat as cute?**

' _Sure?'_

**Well, you've got more fur now so sure.**

' _Yay.'_

"I like it," Miwa boldly declared. "I—I wanna get it."

"Okay," Killua said, pulling out his wallet from his back pocket. "Let's go pay. All that's left would be gloves."

"Okey dokey."

**(≧ڡ≦*)**

That night Miwa got dressed in her official thieving outfit and set back out to steal from the main underground auction.

' _I hope I beat the Phantom Troupe again. That'd be funny.'_

As she hopped rooftop to rooftop, Miwa started to pick up the stench of blood and gunpowder. Her nose wrinkled—she hated how gunpowder smelled—and she quickened her pace. The closer she got, the more gunshots she could hear. Screams could be caught in the distance, and she got the sweet smell of burning flesh among the acrid smell of burning gasoline.

' _Wow,'_ Miwa thought, hopping over a rooftop to see a slew of bodies leading up to the building where the auction was being held. She inhaled deeply, concentrating as she tried to pick up any familiar scents.

' _It's the Phantom Troupe—they're slaughtering all the guards,'_ Miwa thought in admiration. ' _Would it be rude to join in?'_

**No, do it. Do it now.**

Miwa shrugged then dropped from the top of a skyscraper on top of a group of what she assumed to be reinforcements for the mafia. Being careful not to let a single drop of blood spill onto her outfit, she ripped out their hearts. She moved too quickly for the blood to be anywhere else but on her hand—which she removed her gloves from as not to stain them.

She left their hearts on the grass, a skip in her step.

Another group came toward her. She picked up their car and tossed it onto another car, which somehow made it explode.

She skipped all the way to the auction house building, following the scents of some troupe members. She snuck into the building, avoided the rest of the security, and then—

' _Hm? Smells like Killua's home!'_

Immediately curious, Miwa lost interest in the troupe and followed the scent up the building where she found two men coming down the steps, both a little battered.

"Ah," Miwa said, sniffing them. "Could it be...? Um, are you two Zoldyck?"

The one on the left was an old man, shrunken and hunched over but Miwa could sense his nen core was fierce and impressive. He had cold eyes that assessed her with indifference. The one on the right was tall, muscular, but whose eyes were not as apathetic.

"Blonde pigtails," the younger man muttered, looking closely at Miwa. "Are you Miwa?"

Miwa smiled and politely curtsied like Killua showed her to do to impress rich people. "Yes. Are you both related to Killua?"

"I am his father, Silva," introduced the younger man.

"Hoo? You're the one Kikyo wants for Killua?" the older man—she assumed Killua's grandfather—asked. "Mm. Better scurry away, little girl."

"Okey dokey," Miwa said. "It was nice meeting you both."

They moved past her, and Miwa looked up at the top of the stairs where they had come from. She could smell a bit of blood in one of the rooms, and out of curiosity she went inside.

It _was_ a ballroom. It was mostly destroyed with one of the walls completely collapsed and a giant crater in the middle of the floor. There was a man on the ground on the opposite side of the room, although upon her arrival he immediately sat up.

The two stared at each other.

He was a young man, Miwa observed, with dark hair and gray eyes. His core felt about the same size as Killua's father, but it was hard to get a distinct read on it. As if it were a mirror, merely reflecting the world around it instead of showing its own truth.

' _I don't think he's someone I want to fight willy nilly,'_ Miwa thought, a little on edge. His core wasn't as strong as Netero—a man Miwa did _not_ want to fight without good reason—but the fact that she couldn't identify him made him dangerous. She now understood that their abilities in this world could be literally anything due to how odd nen formed. A man who had a core like mirrors—

' _Potentially could reflect my damage, or maybe even steal abilities.'_

He asked, his voice softer than a gentle breeze, "Are you the golden fox?"

His tone threw Miwa for a loop. Netero was hard to get a read on, but the man before Miwa felt...

Not nice. Nice was not the word she could use to describe him, but...

' _Like me?'_

 **He feels like someone lost,** Kurama commented, feeling the man's nen.

Kurama was best at judging people, so Miwa instantly trusted his words. The man before Miwa was lost. Lost in what, or how, she didn't understand. Maybe he didn't have home anymore like Miwa or—

A thought occurred to Miwa, so brief and alarming she instantly shredded it to pieces before it could finish forming.

Miwa pointed to herself. "Me? Um—I mean I am disguised as one at least. Do you—do you like my fluffy tail?"

He looked at her tail and Miwa proudly presented it. Gon and Killua weren't nearly as fond of fluffy things like Miwa. She hoped to one day find someone else who enjoyed fluffy stuff. Maybe the lost man was looking for the fluffy things?

"It is a nice tail," he politely praised, slowly standing up and brushing off debris. "What's your name?"

"Miwa," answered Miwa without thinking. "Oh, wait. Aren't thieves supposed to use fake names?"

"I've never bothered," said the man.

"O-Oh. Are you a thief too?"

"I prefer bandit."

The man looked her up and down before extending a hand. "It's nice to meet you, Miwa."

"Likewise," Miwa accepted the hand. "What's your name?"

Before the man could answer the door to the ballroom opened up and members of the Phantom Troupe came in. As soon as Miwa spotted Feitan her entire demeanor lit up like the sun pouring out behind storm clouds. She excitedly waved at him, unable to keep from bouncing on her toes. She was super relieved that Gon and Killua only wanted to kick his butt, she'd be a little sad if she had to attack such a cutie.

It'd be like attacking a baby black cat!

She'd do it if she _had_ to in order to keep her friends safe, but it'd bum her out.

Feitan's face screwed up like he bit into a rotten lemon as he glared at her.

' _Like you when we first met,'_ Miwa happily thought. She didn't have specific memories, but she definitely remembered that Kurama insulted and glared at her every time she visited him before they became friends.

**I was nothing like that cretin.**

"Ah, it's you again," said Machi as the rest of the troupe members recognized her.

"Do you know her?" the man from before asked.

"She's the one who stole everything from last night's auction," explained Machi.

The man smiled in brief amusement. "Here to steal again?"

"Maybe," Miwa said, looking around at the gathering troupe members. "Hello again."

"So this is the one Nobugana wanted to invite into the troupe?" the man mused. "And do you want to be a Spider, Miwa?"

Miwa shrugged. "I don't know. Is it fun?"

"Hmm. That's a good question," said the man, looking up at the ceiling. " _Is_ it fun? Why don't you watch us tonight?"

"Wow, being invited to watch sounds much better than quietly stalking. Thank you, I will."

**(≧ڡ≦*)**

Miwa was silent as she saw them get to work. She hovered near the man who was clearly their leader. She wanted to catch his name, but they only referred to him as Boss. She watched as they effortlessly infiltrated the staff of the auction, and started it up. In the back of the main room where the auction took place, they would create duplicates of the items up for bid, then sell the fakes created while taking money for the real one. It was done with such ease that Miwa was admittedly very impressed by them.

And then she spotted one of the items up for sale.

A jar with scarlet red eyes.

She stared at them, her memories blurring together between a black haired boy with red eyes that burned with pain and hatred, and a Kurapika whose own eyes were haunted by a similar pain.

"Um," Miwa said, drawing attention to herself. "Would it—Would it be possible if I could take those eyes?"

"How come?" the boss asked, his tone always so soft that Miwa couldn't tell what he truly felt.

"It's just—these eyes—I can't quite remember but I think I need to give them back to someone," Miwa tried to explain, her brow furrowed in thought.

**Back in the exam they said that Kurapika's clan had been wiped out for their eyes.**

' _He'd probably want these back to put them to rest.'_

Miwa's words stirred something in the boss and he asked, "Back to?"

"Mm-hmm. I know one of the survivors," Miwa explained. "I think he'd want to put them to rest."

Miwa's words instantly caused all the troupe members in the back of the auction room to slightly tense. If Miwa's eyes hadn't been so well trained she likely would have missed the subtle reaction.

"This survivor," the boss said slowly, gently, "do you happen to know if he uses chains?"

"Chains?" Miwa repeated the word carefully. "I haven't seen him use it, but when I think about it his nen core feels like chains."

"Feels?" Machi inquired.

"Ah. I can sense nen," Miwa explained. "Like you: you feel like a ball of tight threads and needles."

The Phantom Troupe members exchanged glances. All of this was done while they carried on with the auction, picking out the items up for bid and making copies of them.

"Oh wait, Gon said you guys lost someone to a nen chain user," Miwa said, putting the pieces together.

' _And Killua thought Kurapika might have been the one to do it, but we have no confirmation.'_

Miwa thought about Kurapika. She wouldn't call him one of her _friends_ , but he was a nice enough boy. She liked him. His nen felt colder than the first time she met him, but he was still kind enough to sit with her in a restaurant and teach her how to read the menu.

Miwa couldn't say she was... fond of humans. She didn't see them any different from the animals she hunted in the forest. Animals didn't like it when they died, but if they were in her way she wasn't going to shed a tear about it. Humans could be cute like animals, but they could be annoying like them too.

At the end of the day, Miwa's general opinion on life was closer to apathy.

The only value it had was the value Miwa herself put it in. She liked Gon and Killua therefore their lives were important to her. She liked Kurapika _enough_ to not want him to die, but she liked the Phantom Troupe equally. They were interesting and fun to watch work.

It would be... annoying if she had to choose between the two. She didn't care for them on the same level as Gon and Killua to make it an obvious choice, but she wasn't so disinterested that she wouldn't be upset if she had to choose.

Kurapika wasn't dumb. Gon repeatedly told them Kurapika was the smartest person he knew. He surely wasn't so stupid to antagonize such a professional group of thieves without good reason.

More than likely _if_ Kurapika had killed Uvogin it was done in self defense. Miwa had seen Uvo in action before, he struck her as a berserker type. If he had attacked Kurapika in a frenzy, it'd only make sense for Kurapika to defend himself.

' _Surely_ ,' Miwa thought, ' _such a professional and calm group of thieves won't be too butt hurt over losing a member in self defense.'_

**And if that boss is more like you than you thought? Would** **_you_ ** **let it go?**

' _No,_ ' Miwa answered, thinking about what she'd do if Gon and Killua had died from attacking someone. After she thought about it, she figured she'd be more concerned protecting whoever lived. If they had both died—

A bijū bomb in the city of their death didn't seem too far fetched as something Miwa would do.

Hunt down any member or friend of the person who had done the deed.

She could... she could see herself doing that. Gon and Killua were her only connections to humans. If she lost that... what was the point?

A depressing thought for another day.

Returning to her original thoughts on Kurapika and the Phantom Troupe, Miwa decided to cut straight to the point, "Do you want me to ask him if he killed one of you?"

There was surprise on some of their faces, but the boss only tilted his head slightly and asked, "Would he tell you?"

"I don't see why not," Miwa answered with a shrug. "Gon and Killua were planning on meeting up with him earlier to learn more about nen."

"Then," the boss paused, "if you wouldn't mind, I'd be curious to know his response."

"Okay," Miwa agreed, pulling out her phone. "Here, put your contact information in here and I'll text you."

He accepted the phone, punching in his information before handing it back to Miwa.

 _Chrollo_ , Miwa read. His name was Chrollo.

"Then can I give these eyes to him?" Miwa asked.

"Sure. A gift from us," Chrollo mused.

"Thanks! You guys are really nice." Then Miwa remembered the slaughter. "Well, to _me_ you've been nice, I can't really say the same for the ones killed."

For some reason that made them laugh, and the blond man who had a gangster face put a hand atop Miwa's head and said, "You're a good kid. You should join us."

"Can I think about it for a couple of days?" Miwa asked. "It seems like a really important decision I shouldn't rush."

"Of course," responded Chrollo. "Are you having fun, then?"

"Yeah! I like watching Feitan work, too."

Feitan glared at her.

"Oh?" Chrollo probed.

"Because he's cute," Miwa explained as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Isn't it fun to watch kittens and puppies play?"

"Ah. Congratulations, Feitan, someone thinks you're cute," Chrollo, with a straight face, politely congratulated the furious Feitan while members of the troupe snickered.

**(≧ڡ≦*)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Answer:** Thief!
> 
>  **Question:** Movie you can easily watch on repeat without getting bored?
> 
> Reviews are **love**!


	20. Wolf-Spider IV

**(≧ڡ≦*)**

Once they had finished stealing the items, Miwa watched them fake their deaths and then headed back to the hotel. She was excited to tell her friends about everything that had happened.

To her delight, Kurapika was already in the hotel room. She was surprised he had stopped by so late.

Kurapika's eyes bulged when Miwa walked in holding a jar of scarlet eyes. "Wha—?"

"Here you go," said Miwa, holding out the jar with a big smile. "It's from the auction."

"But I—these were—these were bought," stumbled Kurapika, accepting the eyes of his dead clan mate. "The—The Phantom Troupe—"

Kurapika fell silent as a hollowed expression washed over him. His eyes dulled, he clutched tightly at the jar. He looked closer to a corpse than a living human.

"What's wrong?" asked Miwa, tilting her head curiously.

"He's sad the Phantom Troupe died," explained Gon from his seat on the bed.

"Oh," Miwa said, brightening. "Then I've got great news for you! They aren't. They were at the auction. They made copies of everything there and sold the fakes while stealing the originals. They let me take the eyes though."

Kurapika slowly raised his head to look at her, a myriad of emotions flickering over his face. Disbelief; joy; fury; bitterness; and everything in between. He eventually schooled his features to that closer of apathy, his nen cooling rapidly.

The sharp decrease in temperature of his nen alarmed Miwa, her heart jumped and for a moment—

_'Sasuke?'_

"Wh—What's wrong?" she asked again uneasily.

"Thank you." His words were that of gratitude, but his tone was detached and the chains in his nen rattled ominously.

"For what? What is the Troupe to you?"

"It is my purpose to destroy the Phantom Troupe. They are instruments of destruction and hunted down my clan for our eyes. They deserve death," Kurapika sternly said, the chill in his nen only worsening.

Miwa's mind blanked for a moment until she asked in a quiet, trembling voice, "This is for revenge?"

Kurapika nodded curtly, and at once Miwa was filled with a surge of pure frustration.

Revenge.

_'REVENGE?!'_

**OOooooOOOOOooo.**

Kurama started to play boss battle music in their shared mind.

An instant overwhelming rage exploded inside Miwa's heart. That single word coming out of a boy whose red eyes gleamed of hurt and kindness triggered something inside the jinchūriki. She couldn't resist the hot anger that burned her from the inside out as her emotions surged forth without consent and she unleashed them onto the boy before her.

"Are you _stupid_?" she couldn't help but hiss out, her tone raised to a shrill pitch. "Revenge? _Revenge_?"

Kurapika paled with anger at her remarks but she stampeded on before he could say anything.

"Let me get this straight," Miwa said again, trying in vain to reign in her flood of fury. She glowered with seething disgust as she snapped at him, "Your _entire revenge_ is centered on trying to get back at the tools that destroyed your clan."

Kurapika's eyes narrowed. "The Phantom Troupe—"

"Are a symptom of the problem," Miwa hotly barked out. "Answer me right now: would you rather a.) kill the Phantom Troupe or b.) have your entire clan revived and restored."

"Of course I'd rather they were alive!" Kurapika snarled out.

" _Then your revenge is fucking pointless,_ " she growled back. "Kill the troupe and then what? Another group will take its place and _another_ clan with different pretty eyes or pretty teeth or _whatever_ will be murdered instead. Your revenge is entirely focused on a selfish desire to strike out mindlessly. If you would rather have your damn clan back, then shouldn't you be more focused on trying to _prevent_ such tragedies from happening again? Shouldn't you be targeting the flesh market itself, skinning and slaughtering those who _hired_ the Phantom Troupe instead? Those who gave motivation, desire, _need_ for your eyes? Instead, you put all your efforts into destroying the weapon used instead of the wielder! You moron. You absolute _idiot_."

He fell silent, paled with rage, and quivering with absolute fury as he scowled at her.

"Gon said you were smart. Tell me, _smart one_ , when you inevitably kill yourself trying to shatter a damn weapon, will you feel better? Will all your aches and pains go away? Or are you honestly trying to delude yourself into thinking that this was for _them_? For bags of meat that have already rotted away. Tell me, _smart one_ , if you were to ask them would they wish for the Phantom Troupe's death, or would they wish for the flesh market to be abolished?"

Kurapika's eyes shone red underneath the contact lenses. His animosity was palpable. There might have been heat behind his gaze, but his nen was colder than a glacier.

And starting to crack like one, too.

"You are clouded by your hurt," Miwa went on, restraining her desire to snap at him. She worked hard to soften her tone, unintentionally seeing a different boy in front of her. One that she loved very much, and one who had already died after a childhood of misery. "You're focusing on a tree when you should be looking at the forest. The Phantom Troupe is a symptom, not the cause. Why put yourself through so much misery for an attempt to wipe away _one_ symptom? You know— _you know_ —once they're gone another will take their place. The cycle will go on and on."

"The flesh—the flesh market is too wide for one person to deal with," Kurapika spoke slowly, his tone coated with venomous ice.

"You don't have to be _one person,_ " she reminded him.

"The Phantom Troupe is something I _can_ do."

"And destroying the flesh market isn't?"

He didn't answer.

"How did you feel when you found out they were dead?" she pressed. "Did it make you feel better, or only more pathetic?"

Kurapika abruptly stood up, terrible pain on his face as his eyes burned with scarlet fury. He trembled from the weight of his anger, but none of it was directed at Miwa. He stared at her, words failing him as he tried to combat her words with logic.

There was no logic to his emotions, though, and he knew that.

He felt like a child, one who was just scolded over something so inanely stupid it filled him with shame.

He left.

"Ahhhh that was heavy," whispered Gon uncomfortably when Kurapika slammed the hotel door shut behind him.

"I don't think I ever want to get a lecture from Miwa," Killua commented, eliciting a firm nod from Gon.

Miwa huffed, her mood sour. "I'm going to take a bath."

"Ah, I could use a bath too," Gon said, rotating his shoulders.

"Wanna join? I stole some bath bombs."

"Sure," Gon chirped as Killua's face turned ten sheds of red.

As soon as Gon said yes, Killua turned back to Gon in disbelief. " _What?_ "

"What?" Gon and Miwa stared at Killua in confusion.

"You can't—you're—Gon you're a boy and Miwa's a girl!"

"So?" Miwa retorted, her eyes narrowed in frustration. "You two got to take a bath together at Gon's place while I had to help his aunt with dinner! Why can't I?"

"Yeah, Killua, stop excluding her," Gon said with a wide grin.

" _You know exactly why!_ " Killua said, his face molten.

"Whatever. If you wanna stop being a sourpuss you can join in," Miwa said dismissively, tired from getting so worked up earlier. She just wanted a bubble bath with yummy scents. She didn't see why Killua was getting so worked up. She remembered bathing with her (faceless) friends before, it was common for teams to bathe together on long or dangerous missions.

"Woo-hoo bubble bath time!" Gon cheered as he followed behind her.

Killua fidgeted from one foot to the other until he let out a groan and followed after them, "Don't leave me out!"

**(≧ڡ≦*)**

**Chrollo**

"You're leaving tonight," said Chrollo.

Chrollo would send the Troupe away. He would linger near the city to watch the fox girl for a few more days. He was admittedly intrigued by the child, and the potential fortune she would bring him. Even if she did know the chain-user, Chrollo saw little value in risking the Troupe's existence to chase revenge.

There wasn't even a guarantee the boy she knew was the one who killed Uvogin. Or, worse, it _was_ the same boy and the chain-user was too big of a threat for his Troupe to handle. Chrollo had confidence, but he wasn't arrogant. He led a successful and thriving thieving life by carefully picking his fights. The chain-user was an unknown variable who was already strong enough to deal with Uvogin on his own.

Chrollo could not, in sound mind, dismiss the possibility that the chain-user could defeat his Troupe.

Therefore, the best decision would be to send them away while he personally gathered further intel. He could use the fox girl to ascertain if the boy she knew was the chain-user. From there, he could manipulate her into divulging further secrets about the boy or—

_Join hands with the golden fox, lead it to the city that fell from the sky. It will show you a lifelong sun._

_'Join hands?'_

That line from his fortune nettled him. Joining hands implied friendship. Chrollo thought it would have been more fitting if it said _Pull the strings of the golden fox_ as that would have been closer to manipulate. The fact that it said _join hands_ , though..

Perturbing, to say the least.

"We'll take the rest of the treasure tonight," Chrollo went on to address his Troupe members back in their dilapidated warehouse. "And that's the end of it."

He did not see fit to tell the entire troupe he planned on lingering behind to play with the fox girl. Only Feitan and Phinks were informed before Chrollo made the address. Feitan, because if Chrollo decided to manipulate her he could be an easy way to do so, and Phinks because he was good with kids for that same reason.

Nobunaga stood up from the concrete floor as lightning flashed behind Chrollo from the broken window. "Not yet."

"What else is there?" Chrollo asked, hoping he wouldn't bring up the fox girl.

"We have to find the chain-user."

"You seem obsessed," observed Chrollo.

"Yes, I am. We're going to leave without avenging Uvo? Uvo will be bored in the next world if we don't send the chain-user to join him."

Franklin cut in, "Cut it out, Nobunaga. The boss issued an order."

Nobunaga nodded curtly. "Yeah, and an order from the boss is absolute. But are you really speaking as our leader, Chrollo?"

" _Nobunaga_ ," growled Franklin.

" _Shut up_ ," snarled Nobunaga. "I'm talking to Chrollo."

 _'Hmm,'_ thought Chrollo.

It was good that Nobunaga wasn't using the fox girl as a reason to stay. That meant even Nobugana didn't blindly trust her information and wasn't willing to stay behind for her. Which in turn meant that his desire to hunt down the chain-user was fueled entirely by his thirst for vengeance... and he'd be willing to put the entire Troupe at risk for it.

Nobunaga was a strong nen-user, but an awful tactician.

In fighting would only hurt them further. They had already lost Uvogin, one of their better fighters. Being forced to kill Nobunaga for insubordination would be... unsavory.

Unfortunately, Nobunaga was not the type to be reasoned with. If he were, he wouldn't have spoken up in the first place. He was short-sighted, blinded from his loyalty to his friend. To Nobunaga, the troupe was a family first, group of thieves second.

To Chrollo, the Phantom Troupe was a legacy first, a group of thieves second, and a family third. The bigger picture mattered the most in the end. The spider had to survive.

Nobunaga wanted the troupe to stay in a situation where they lacked intel in a city they weren't prepared to fight in. Chrollo wanted them to leave and reassess the situation after more information had been gathered.

Chrollo _knew_ from his first fortune that members would die if they stayed in the City—

_'Ah.'_

The solution became obvious.

Chrollo stood up from his stone seat under the stormy window and he hopped down to join his followers. He approached Nobunaga, summoning his nen-book in his right hand. "Before I answer that, I need you to answer my question, Nobunaga. When is your birthday?"

"Huh?"

"The day you were born?" Chrollo clarified for the confused samurai.

"September 8th, in the year 70," answered Nobunaga.

"Blood type?"

"B."

"Name?"

"Nobunaga Hazama! You already know that! The hell is this about? What do you wanna know next?"

"No, that's enough," said Chrollo, pulling out a sheet of paper from his nen book. "Write all of that down on this paper."

"Why didn't you tell me to do that in the first place?" asked Nobunaga, exasperated.

After Nobunaga had done so, Chrollo took a seat on one of the boxes. He placed the paper in front of him on another box, summoned his nen book once more and triggered the fortune-telling nen ability he had stolen previously. His right hand wrote on its own as it laid out Nobunaga's fortune. Upon completion, Chrollo handed it back to Nobunaga.

Nobunaga accepted it with a confused face. "Huh? What's this?"

"A completely accurate fortune written in verse form. The ability to see the future. I stole this power from Nostrade's daughter."

"A completely accurate fortune?"

"Each of the four verses predicts what will happen in that week."

"This is the fortune the daughter gave me yesterday," Chrollo said, holding out his own fortune for Nobunaga to read.

_The calendar loses a precious component. The remaining months gather to mourn._

_The mourners play a melody, while the eleventh moon quietly rises._

_The chrysanthemum withers and falls to lie on the ground beside bloody Scarlet Eyes. But you will remain supreme._

_After losing half your limbs, join hands with the golden fox, lead it to the city that fell from the sky. It will show you a lifelong sun._

"Is _loses a precious component_ relating to—?"

Chrollo nodded. "Uvo. That girl didn't know anything about Uvo. In other words, she predicted our attack on the Mafia auction. And there were fans of her fortune telling among the Ten Dons."

"Ah. That explains why the Dons wanted the merchandise to move. I guess they weren't fast enough for that girl, though."

"What does Nobunga's fortune say?" asked Shizuku.

"My hand wrote it on its own. Ask Nobunaga."

"Well?"

"What does it say, Nobunaga?"

Nobunaga peered at his fortune. "Next week, five of us will probably die."

"Which five?" asked Franklin.

"No idea. I can't figure out what it all means. I kind of understand the second poem: _the spider loses half its limbs_ —"

Phinks cut in, "The spider would be us?"

"Yeah. The limbs would be the members, so half would be six. That means five more after losing Uvo."

"The same line was in my fortune," affirmed Chrollo.

"That girl's in here, too," said Nobunaga, tapping at the last line.

Chrollo looked up at that, curious. "She was in mine as well. What did yours say?"

" _The spider watches over the golden fox_ ," read Nobunaga.

 _'Not join hands?'_ Chrollo thought, curious. ' _Watches over... implies paternity. Nobunaga was the first to take an interest in her. He never struck me as a father-figure.'_

"Can I see?" Shizuku asked, approaching Nobunaga. Nobunaga handed her his fortune and she read it over. She looked over at Chrollo. "Boss, can you tell my fortune?"

After completing the fortune, Shizuku read her's out loud.

_The calendar loses a precious component. The remaining months gather to mourn._

_You join your ally as an offering to keep him from being lonely._

_In the chamber of black merchandise you will find endless sleep._

_Your greatest fear should be solitude. You have the most to fear when you are alone with another._

"I knew it," Shizuku said. "I'm going to die next week."

"Seriously?" asked Franklin.

"Yeah, because I only got two poems," she said, holding up the paper. "And Pakunoda and Shalnark will die, as well."

"How do you know that?" Nobunaga asked as Shalnark went " _Ooooooo spooky_."

Shizuku held up her poem. "It seems the numbered months here refer to troupe members. November is the eleventh month, Uvo was member eleven."

"Yes," agreed Chrollo. "The chrysanthemum is the flower of September, it blooms in August the eighth month and withers in June. This refers to members six, eight, and nine. And since the word _falls_ is used, it implies death."

"The Scarlet-Eyes... it matches up with a surviving member of the Kura Clan," commented Phinks. "That fox girl said her friend was a Kura member. That gives motive, and now with this fortune it's likely he's the chain-user."

"Does he die?"

"How can I know? It only calls him _bloody_ so he'll probably survive."

"Nobunga, this means we'll suffer serious casualties if we fight the chain-user," Shalnark pointed out. "We'll lose half our members. You and I have abilities that can be easily replaced, but Shizuku and Pakunoda's are rare. The troupe can't afford to lose them.

Lightning and thunder cracked above them. Chrollo said, "Today is Saturday of the first week. If we return home today, we won't run into the chain-user next week. The best thing about these fortunes is that they tell us how to avoid catastrophes. If we leave here without fighting the chain-user, this fortune is one hundred percent certain to not come true. Nobunaga you and Uvo were our attack unit. Dying is just part of your job. I believe you both chose that role voluntarily."

"Yeah, that's right..."

Rain fell through the cracks in the ceiling above.

"Shizuku, Paku, and Shal collect intelligence. They provide our support. You could say they're our lifelines. Isn't it your job to serve as their shield?"

"Yeah, it is," Nobunaga said firmly, his conviction wavering.

 _'Family first, vengeance second,'_ Chrollo thought. He had successfully persuaded Nobunaga.

"Hold on," drawled Hisoka. "You should tell some of the other members' fortunes. Perhaps we could gather additional clues for avoiding the prophecy."

Chrollo had a very firm suspicion that Hisoka was up to something, but—

_'It's not a bad a idea. More information shouldn't hurt the situation.'_

**(≧ڡ≦*)**

Once the fortunes were passed around and everyone read theirs, Pakunoda approached Hisoka and asked to read his. She sucked in air sharply in surprise when she read his fortune, and asked everyone to gather around.

_A red-eyed customer will visit your shop, seeking to make a trade._

_The customer will use the sword of law upon you, taking the calendar's secrets with him._

_The eleven-legged spider grows homesick, losing five more legs._

_Do not leave your temporary shelter, for you are one of those legs._

_'Odd,'_ Chrollo thought. He had been certain the fortunes implied staying in the city would lead to death. He could have been wrong, but—

_'Do the fortunes change upon actions? Because I decided for us to leave they adjusted, or was I wrong in the first place?'_

As soon as it was read aloud, Nobunaga approached Hisoka dangerously. " _Hisoka!_ Did you sell him out?!"

Hisoka did not verbally respond. He continued to shuffle his cards while Nobunaga drew his sword. Infuriated, Nobunaga launched himself at Hisoka, swinging his katana but before any connection could be made he was teleported to the ledge above.

"Nobunaga, be quiet," ordered Chrollo. "Hisoka, I'm going to ask you some questions. You don't have to answer if you can't. In the fortune, what does the _taking secrets_ part mean?"

"The powers of the troupe's members."

"Of how many members?"

"Seven, no eight. You, Uvogin, Shizuku, Machi, Franklin, Pakunoda, Shalnark, and I add up to eight."

Chrollo leaned back in surprise. "So you only found out about Kortopi's ability yesterday?"

"That is correct."

Chrollo went on with his questions, "What is his ability?"

"I can't say."

"What does he look like?"

"I can't say."

"What is your relationship to him?"

"I can't say."

Chrollo looked away. "I see. The _red-eyed customer_ , the chain-user, has two abilities at the very least. One would be the ability he used to capture Uvogin. The other would be the ability that restricts Hisoka's actions. Since the fortune uses the phrase _sword of law_ it must force a person to obey a set of rules. Like: don't lie to me, or do not reveal anything about me. Something like that. I would also guess that he planted something inside of Hisoka. The first half of the poem mentions a trade, but the second half only describes what the customer took. This suggests the _sword of law_ attacked Hisoka. In other words, _the sword of law_ attacked Hisoka and forced him to betray us. The sword that can restrict Hisoka's speech is powerful."

Shalnark cleared his throat, "To review: the enemy uses chains. A Manipulator would be using real chains. If he's a Conjurer, he killed Uvo with nen chains. A Conjurer could appear empty-handed at any moment which would give them a huge advantage. We might be able to find out more from that fox, but it's too early to make an assumption."

"The second half of his poem talks about being home-sick," Phinks pointed out. "If he leaves this hideout, he could die."

"That sword of law probably means he can't fight against the chain-user," guessed Franklin.

"Uvo, Hisoka, Shizuku, Pakunoda, Shalnark. One more for half of the members... No one else's fortune predicted their death?" Chrollo asked.

"Then it has to be Feitan, Kortopi, or me," said Phinks. "We didn't get our fortunes told because we lacked the data."

"I will be staying here. There are things I want to do before I die. I will not leave the _temporary shelter_ ," said Hisoka as he sat back down.

"Boss, what should we do?"

Chrollo considered it for another minute. "We stay. Let's split into groups. We'll spend the next week operating in these groups. Avoid being alone. Shizuku, Pakunoda, and Machi. Kortopi, Phinks, and Feitan. Nobunaga and Shalnark are with me. Bonolenov, Franklin, and Hisoka will stay here. To play it safe, 'well make some dummy hideouts. Kortopi, can you make ten?"

"I can make fifty. The instant anyone enters a fake hideout, I'll know," said Kortopi.

There was a ding. A message from Chrollo's phone.

 **Message** : _can meet ? ._

Chrollo read over the message. Only one person had been given this phone's number outside the Troupe. He replied with a _yes_ , as he considered the time and place—

To his surprise, she appeared before them in a flash of golden light. Her hair was slightly wet, and she wore a pink night dress with white butterflies on it. Her cerulean eyes looked around the place until she spotted—

" _AH!_ " she let out a shriek, jumping away and pointing dramatically at Hisoka. "YOU STALKED US HERE?!"

"Stalked?" Nobunaga asked in surprise.

"You're stalking _kids_?" Shalnark questioned Hisoka, a touch of disdain in his tone.

"Don't worry, kitten, I'll protect you," Miwa coached, leaping in front of Feitan.

" _I don't need protection,_ " hissed Feitan, clearly offended by her insinuation.

Chrollo coughed to cover up his amused smile. "You wanted to talk, Miwa?"

"Oh... right," she said, still glaring suspiciously at Hisoka.

"He won't attack," Chrollo tried to soothe.

"If he does, say the word and I'll kick his ass. I'm not supposed to kill him 'til Gon kicks his butt, but I can definitely maim," she said.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't maim any members of the troupe," said Chrollo.

Her face screwed up like she bit into a rotten lemon. "Ugh. _He's_ a member? I have to say, I am severely disappointed by your judgment."

Chrollo did not smile, but he was amused by her. "You wanted to talk?"

"Yeah. Um... is now okay?" she asked, curiously tilting her head. She twitched in surprise when Nobunaga draped an extra blanket over her shoulders. She looked up at him, blinking. "Huh?"

"Little girls shouldn't be teleporting into hideouts with nothing but a nightgown," said Nobunaga, his tone slightly scolding.

"Oh," she said.

Chrollo beckoned for her to take a seat beside him. "Come. Let us talk."

"Not with _him_ anywhere near me," Miwa firmly rejected, giving Hisoka a stink eye.

"Hisoka, go stand outside," said Nobunaga.

"It's raining."

"Take an umbrella."

**(≧ڡ≦*)**

**Original fortunes that follow the timeline of Kurapika fighting the Phantom Troupe:**

**Nobunaga's fortune:**

_The calendar loses a precious component. The remaining months gather to mourn._

_The first moon, having missed his opportunity, continues to pursue the eleventh moon's shadow alone._

_The chrysanthemum withers and falls to lie on the ground beside bloody Scarlet Eyes._

_But the spider does not stop even after losing half its limbs. The spider watches over the golden fox._

**Shizuku's fortune:**

_The calendar loses a precious component. The remaining months gather to mourn._

_You join your ally as an offering to keep him from being lonely._

_In the chamber of black merchandise you will find endless sleep._

_Your greatest fear should be solitude. You have the most to fear when you are alone with another._

**Pakunoda's fortune:**

_The calendar loses a precious component. The remaining months gather to mourn._

_On a dark day with very little light, you will face two choices within a small room._

_You must choose between pride and betrayal._

_The hidden choice is with the fox. Place your heart in its hands, and it will burn away the darkness._

**Shalnark's fortune:**

_The calendar loses a precious component. The remaining months gather to mourn._

_Do not make any calls. When it matters most, you will be unable to connect._

_It would be unwise to answer the phone, for the reaper will come calling one time in three._

**(≧ڡ≦*)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Answer:** Most Ghibli movies. Howl's Moving Castle & Spirited Away have some of the loveliest musical scores to listen to. Just... *chef's kiss* beautiful.
> 
>  **Question:** Who from HxH would you want to be your personal eternally loyal maid/butler?
> 
>  **Bonus question:** Are we pro saving Kurapika, or are we pro killing him?
> 
> Reviews are **love**! 


	21. Wolf-Spider V

**(** ≧ **ڡ** ≦ ***)**

Miwa hummed happily to herself as she lounged on the bed and played with her phone. She still had the sweet smell of lavender in her nose from their bubble bath. The bath bomb turned out to be quite a delight, turning the whole thing into a sudsy palace that smelled delightful. Her mood had considerably improved since her argument with Kurapika, but when she thought about him—

 _'Stupid bastards,'_ she sourly thought. Thinking about the situation left a bitter taste in her mouth. It was late and her best friends were sound asleep in their bed, but she was wide awake and mulling over what had happened.

She gave up on rest after another hour. She reached for her phone and sent a message.

 **To** : Chrollo

 **Message** : _can meet ? ._

 **From:** Chrollo

**Message:** _Yes._

**(** ≧ **ڡ** ≦ ***)**

She snuck out as the storm hit a fever pitch. She placed a _hiraishin_ mark at their hideout, so she teleported there. She wasn't surprised to find that the warehouse had become nearly filled to the brim with boxes of loot they had stolen from the auction. She looked around, happy to find familiar faces, but then she saw—

" _AH!_ " she let out a shriek, jumping away and pointing dramatically at Hisoka. "YOU STALKED US HERE?!"

**Wow. That's a determined masochist.**

"Stalked?" The samurai, Nobunaga if she remembered correctly, asked in surprise.

"You're stalking _kids_?" Shalnark questioned Hisoka, a touch of disdain in his tone.

 **Maybe he's not here for you?** Kurama idly guessed.

_'Who else—THE CUTIE!'_

"Don't worry, kitten, I'll protect you," Miwa declared as she leapt in front of Feitan, hellbent on making sure Hisoka didn't try anything.

" _I don't need protection,_ " hissed Feitan, clearly offended by her insinuation.

Chrollo coughed. "You wanted to talk, Miwa?"

"Oh... right," she said, still glaring suspiciously at Hisoka.

"He won't attack," Chrollo tried to soothe.

"If he does, say the word and I'll kick his ass. I'm not supposed to kill him 'til Gon kicks his butt, but I can definitely maim," she said.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't maim any members of the troupe," said Chrollo.

 _'Ugh. Why do people keep wanting to keep him alive? He's so creepy. Wait—_ member?!'

Her face screwed up like she bit into a rotten lemon. "Ugh. _He's_ a member? I have to say, I am severely disappointed by your judgment."

_'I don't think I'll be joining the troupe as long as Hisoka's in it.'_

Chrollo's nen glimmered in a way that reminded Miwa of when Kurama didn't want to admit he was amused by her. "You wanted to talk?"

"Yeah. Um... is now okay?" she asked, curiously tilting her head. She twitched in surprise when Nobunaga draped an extra blanket over her shoulders. She looked up at him, blinking. "Huh?"

"Little girls shouldn't be teleporting into hideouts with nothing but a nightgown," said Nobunaga, his tone slightly scolding.

"Oh," she said, a little touched by his action.

**Surprisingly paternal.**

_'Paternal?'_

**Fatherly.**

_'Is that good?'_

**Only if you're comfortable with it.**

Chrollo beckoned for her to take a seat beside him. "Come. Let us talk."

"Not with _him_ anywhere near me," Miwa firmly rejected, giving Hisoka a stink eye.

"Hisoka, go stand outside," said Nobunaga.

"It's raining."

"Take an umbrella."

There was a bit more bickering back and forth, but Hisoka and a couple of the other members left the room. Miwa sat down on the wooden crate next to Chrollo, hugging the blanket closer to her.

She quietly asked, "Um... do you guys want to kill the chain-user?"

"He killed one of our own."

"You murdered his family," she retorted. She tilted her head. "If he leaves you alone, will you leave him alone?"

Nobunaga narrowed his eyes. "Uvo is owed."

"And the chain-user isn't?" she asked, wanting to confirm. "If you kill him, someone else will come after you guys again and everything will repeat itself."

Chrollo asked, "Can you make him _not_ pursue us?"

"If I can't," she said slowly, " _I_ will stop him for you."

"Why?" asked Machi.

"He reminds me of someone else," she said, uncertain how to put her feelings into words. She honestly didn't know how to accurately relay her thoughts. They were vague, flashes of memories and pain. Kurapika reminded her of someone else, and she could see him in Kurapika.

It was more than that, though. Kurapika... Kurapika wasn't like her. Vengeance for someone like him felt... wrong.

She fidgeted, struggling to find words but failing. She would need to ponder it a bit further.

"The chain-user," said Chrollo carefully as he watched her fret, "is someone we would like to avoid fighting."

" _Boss_ ," hissed Nobunaga, but Chrollo looked back at him with apathy then pointedly looked down at the piece of paper in Nobunaga's hands. Nobunaga clutched at it, looked away then scoffed. "Fine."

"Oh—that's—that's good," she sighed with relief. "You're not lying?"

"Unlikely."

_'That's not a no.' /_ **That's not a no.**

Kurama snorted. **If he lies to you, kill him.**

 _'That'd be a shame. But he's clearly at least a little bad if he's defending_ Hisoka _.'_

**Gon defends Hisoka.**

_'Gon is insane.'_

**This is true.**

Chrollo kept looking at her which made Miwa shift in her spot. "Um?"

"Do you have plans after the auction?" he asked her.

Miwa blinked in surprise. "Well—"

 **(** ≧ **ڡ** ≦ ***)**

Still in her nightgown Miwa decided it was time to talk with Kurapika again. Then she'd sleep away the day until Greed Island was up for auction, steal it, and conclude her business in the city. She was happy to come to some type of agreement with the Phantom Troupe.

That agreement meant shit if Kurapika was hellbent on his useless revenge. Therefore, it was time for Miwa to beat some sense into him.

It was storming heavily outside. The rain made it hard to pick up Kurapika's scent, which meant Miwa had to rely on her nen-sensing capabilities. She was decent enough at it, but she was significantly better at tracking with her nose than her chakra.

But! The longer she put it off, the worst it would get. She'd prefer to kick his ass, then maybe they could get some breakfast, take a nap, and be done with the fiasco.

She leapt from rooftop to rooftop. When she started to feel a touch cold from being absolutely soaked by the rain, she circulated chakra throughout her body to warm up. About thirty minutes into her hunt she felt something—

Something—

It was nen that was—

It was—

Indescribable.

Perplexed, Miwa walked vertically down the building. She peered into one of the windows and saw something truly fascinating.

There was a beautiful woman with long golden hair intricately woven together in an odd hairstyle. She wore a silky dress soaked in her blood. Her chest had been torn open, Miwa could see straight through it. She was plainly dead, yet her nen sung otherwise.

A cat, large, fluffy, with an eerie smile, formed behind her made out of pure nen. Its smile stretched widely, full of malicious glee as it reached out a massive paw and grabbed at another man. Miwa could only see the man's back, and hear his blood-curdling scream of agony when the cat's paw touched him.

"WHAT THE FUCK!?" cried out another man. There were a dozen or so living men surrounding the deceased woman, with several more bodies laid strewn on the floor. Clearly there had been a scuffle. The men standing all wore the same suit.

The man being picked up and—

 _'Is he melting_?' Miwa thought, utterly fascinated as she saw the man held by the cat turn into ooze.

Even more surprising, the woman's wound began to mend itself. Her heart was regrown, lungs, ribs, everything stitched together by some unseen force. As the man died, the woman returned to life.

**What the fuck?**

_'THAT IS SO AWESOME!'_

_"_ She's fucking coming back!"

"Shoot her again!"

"Kill her again, and again, whatever it takes!"

 _'No way,'_ Miwa thought, busting in through the window and decapitating the first man. ' _Someone that awesome doesn't deserve to die.'_

By the time Miwa had finished dispatching the rest of the men, the woman had fully come back to life. Her dress was utterly ruined, she was soaked in blood, and the otherworldly cat behind her was cackling with glee.

She was the most beautiful thing Miwa had ever seen.

**Ahem.**

Miwa was in awe of the woman. The woman's icy blue eyes looked down at Miwa, then around the scenes. She smiled coyly and without warmth. "My savior."

"Uh," said Miwa, flustered. "N-No. I mean—I saw—that was awesome. You—you're really cool."

She laughed delicately. "Thank you. What is your name, girl?"

"Miwa," she answered eagerly.

"Miwa," the woman repeated. "What a lovely name."

"Oh—thank you. Ah—can I ask—can I ask for yours?"

"You do not know?" the woman asked, bemused by her. "I am Camilla Hu Guo Rou, second prince to the Kakin Empire."

Miwa blinked in surprise. ' _Royalty? She's a real life princess—er—prince?'_

She vaguely remembered that Killua told her only outdated empires used the term princess as it was considered sexist. Modern empires used prince for all of their heirs, regardless of gender.

Miwa beamed. "It's an honor, prince."

Camilla's smile stretched a bit further. "It is. My dear, I have noticed you keep looking behind me. Do you see something?"

"Your cat is super cute!" exclaimed Miwa. "He looks so fluffy."

"You can see him?"

"Yep!"

"Are you a nen-user?" Camilla asked with intrigue. "You're so young."

"I'm a Hunter," Miwa declared proudly. She pulled out her IDs from her nightdress pocket, proudly holding it up.

Camilla gracefully accepted the cards and raised an eyebrow. "Ah. A Zoldyck, that explains it. I must say, I am terribly impressed by you."

_'A what?'_

**_HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA._ **

Kurama howled with laughter in Miwa's head as it took her several seconds to put the pieces together.

_'KILLUA PUT MY LAST NAME AS ZOLDYCK!?'_

She—

She was honestly impressed, wow that was smooth.

Camilla handed back the cards, chuckling. "Tell me, Miwa Zoldyck, are you already for hire?"

"Sure?"

"Lovely. I'll contact your family when I need you."

"Sure," Miwa said agreeably, nodding furiously. "Please contact me whenever. AH! I have a phone! Ah... I don't—I don't know the number, yet—but—"

Miwa eagerly pulled out her Totoro-83 phone. Camilla accepted it, amused by Miwa's enthusiasm, and opened it up. "It says your number here."

"You can call me wherever," said Miwa. When Camilla handed Miwa's phone back, Miwa lightly brushed against the back of her palm where she subtly placed a _hiraishin_ marker. Her skin was velvety smooth. Camilla must have noticed what Miwa had done, but the gorgeous lady only kept smiling with lethal chillness.

_'I want to be her when I grow up. She's so cool. I wish I could have a nen-cat.'_

**Ah-hem.**

Miwa hurried to explain, ' _It'd be pointless to want a nen-fox because you're already the best fox.'_

**Mm-hmm.**

"I will enjoy seeing you serve under me, _Miwa_ ," purred the lady.

Miwa's cheeks turned red and she spluttered. Kurama chuckled at her flustered state.

 _'I better leave before I say something stupid to the prince._ '

 **(** ≧ **ڡ** ≦ ***)**

Back outside in the pouring rain, Miwa slapped her cheeks. ' _OKAY! No more pretty ladies, I need to find Kurapika.'_

Even though she thought that, it still took her forty five minutes to hunt down Kurapika. He was at a hotel, likely working as a bodyguard, so Miwa had to try to subtly get his attention outside. She stood on the outer wall, peering into the window. When he caught her eye, she waved him over.

He sighed, went over. He opened the window, "Wha—"

She grabbed him by the collar and teleported him to a little flower meadow she had found when she first woke up. Thankfully, it wasn't raining there.

"Miwa," Kurapika said sharply. "What are you doing?"  
"We need to sort this out," she said stubbornly. "I talked to the troupe. They won't bother you, if you don't bother them—"

"That is _none_ of your—"

"It _is_ my business," she snapped. "ER—well—I made it my business you stupid Uchi—stupid bastard."

Kurapika glared at her. "I'm not changing my mind. The Phantom Troupe deserve to die."

"More than the flesh market?" she countered.

"I can't—"

" _I can_ ," she insisted. " _I can_. You don't have to do this alone you stupid bastard."

"Stop calling me a stupid bastard!"

"Stop acting like a stupid bastard then!"

The two were in each other's faces, their cheeks red from anger as they glowered furiously at one another. Miwa broke off first, sighing roughly. "I get you want—why you want that stupid thing. I get it. But I feel like if you chase after it the way you are you're—you're gonna end up regretting it."

"That's not for _you_ to decide," Kurapika coldly returned.

"Yeah," she agreed softly. "Ultimately it is your choice. But as your fr—as your frie—as someone who cares _enough_ about you, it _is_ my right to do whatever I can to make sure you don't get yourself killed or worse."

Kurapika barked out a laugh. " _Worse?_ The worse case scenario is that I fail."

"No. The _worst case scenario_ is that while you've been focusing on chasing after a group of thieves, the flesh market targets another clan with your eyes. You fail to kill the troupe, and the flesh market goes unpunished. Everything you did was meaningless."

"I can't do anything about the market. I _can_ —"

" _I can!"_ Miwa shouted. "I know I can. You're smart, but I have the power. Use me."

In the distance, thunder rolled.

 _'It better not rain here, too,'_ Miwa thought sourly.

Even in the dark, Miwa could clearly pick out Kurapika's facial expression. There was indigent anger, but there was a flicker of something else. His glacial nen had cracks, and his chains rattled ominously. His face and nen screamed conflicted. She could see it in his eyes, he _wanted_ her help—

No.

He didn't want her help.

He just didn't want to be alone in it.

Miwa held out her hand to him, her heart skipping a beat as she dared to hope that maybe she finally said the right things. Maybe, just maybe, tragedy could be averted.

Kurapika, under all that ice and pain, had a good heart. He wasn't as sunny as Gon, but she thought he felt kinder. Gon could be sweet, but there was a callous curiosity that took precedence over empathy. Gon, Killua, and Miwa were three who were comfortable in bloodshed and violence.

Kurapika was not.

He had a gentle soul that did not belong in their world. He and Sasuke were not meant for such darkness.

Miwa could completely understand why he'd want vengeance, but he simply wasn't the type of person who could take utter revenge and walk away unscathed. Miwa could slaughter hundrds of thousands of humans and sleep peacefully the following night. Death meant nothing to her, and lives only held value if she personally placed value in it.

Kurapika could never do such a thing, which was why his vengeance was ultimately detrimental and useless.

"Don't seek revenge. Seek to defend," she whispered to him.

Motive meant everything.

"Fight to protect, not to hurt."

Choice meant everything.

"Use that brilliant mind of yours to make sure no one hurts the way you do now."

Kurapika's hand trembled, his scarlet eyes burning underneath the contacts he used to disguise them. He tentatively placed his hand in Miwa's and he said, "Prove to me you have the power."

"Okay," she agreed.

In that remote, isolated clearing, where not a single human soul could be found for hundreds of miles... Miwa showed Kurapika exactly what it meant to be a jinchūriki.

 **(** ≧ **ڡ** ≦ ***)**

Miwa returned back to their hotel room wearing only Kurapika's suit jacket. She hadn't anticipated Kurama's chakra destroying her clothes—neither had Kurama or Kurapika. Kurama said it made sense since they (the world they were in now) had never encountered his chakra before and none of their clothes were made with chakra woven in for durability.

Which meant Miwa had to figure out how to weave chakra in clothes if she didn't want to fight naked every time she pulled out Kurama's cloak. It wasn't much of an issue currently, but the thought of fighting _Hisoka_ or someone similar without anything—

She nearly vomited at the thought.

Killua and Gon were already up. Killua looked her over in surprise. "What are you wearing and what happened?"

Miwa took a deep breath, then explained everything.

"Wow," said Gon. During the explanation Miwa had changed into her other set of pajamas. "That sounds exhausting."

"How come you haven't shown us all your powers?" asked Killua.

"Do you want to see them?"

"How dare you even ask that," said Gon.

"Okay, I can show you both," she agreed. "But then I want to sleep."

"Okay," the boys agreed.

"Before I forget, though," she said, pointing an accusatory finger at Killua. "You put my last name as Zoldyck."

"Yep," he said with a cat-like smirk. "Welcome to the family."

**Clever little shit.**

**(** ≧ **ڡ** ≦ ***)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Camilla is manga only right now from the Dark Continent Arc and I flippity flappity love her.
> 
>  **Answer:** Killua / Kurapika. Both sensible, capable, and pretty non-judgmental. Killua's got that touch of yandere that would be super fun, but Kurapika got that touch of big-brother that would be super comforting.
> 
>  **Question:** Who would you want to be the eternal maid/butler/chef _for_?
> 
>  **Bonus question again!** Are we pro saving certain ant people or are we pro burn them alllllllll?
> 
> Reviews are **love**!


	22. Wolf-Spider VI

**(≧ڡ≦*)**

"One more time."

Miwa launched another bijū bomb into the air. Its explosion was so massive that it shook the ground where Gon, Killua, and Miwa laid. The force was powerful enough that Gon and Killua could only lay back in the grass and watch it from above.

"Can you make it a different color?" asked Gon.'

"Do it again," said Killua.

"I dunno about changing its color," said Miwa. "Lemme ask Kurama."

**No.**

"He said no."

"And Kurama is a demon that is in your soul or whatever?"

"Something like that."

"Through the power of fuinjutsu?" Gon wanted to clarify.

"Yeah."

"So fuinjutsu can seal demons inside you that you can befriend and they give you crazy powers?"

"Yeah."

"I'm so happy I'm learning that," said Killua while Gon pouted.

"Why does it have to be so hard to learn?" complained Gon. "Ugh. Why can't it just be punching something _really_ good? I can punch. I'm the best at punching."

Killua turned his head to look at Miwa. "Can Kurama come out?"

**Under circumstances.**

"Sometimes," said Miwa. "He doesn't like humans a whole lot."

"Aww. We can be friends Kurama!" Gon said cheerfully.

"Humans tend to want to destroy creatures stronger than them," Miwa said, reciting what Kurama was telling her.

"We won't be like that," promised Gon.

**Oh sure. That's what they all say. Humans preach they'll be accepting but as soon as a new creature appears that's stronger than them they freak out and immediately move to destroy, detain, or conquer it. They will never coexist with their own predators.**

_Gon and Killua aren't like other humans._

**Feh. Can they swear that? Can they coexist with** **_their_ ** **predator?**

"He asked, _can you swear that?_ "

"Sure," said Gon. "Right Killua?"

"I won't kill you if you won't kill me," said Killua.

"Then," said Miwa slowly, "we think we can pull you into a shared genjutsu. Later though because Kurama still doesn't want to talk to either of you."

"What a stinker."

"I know, he's a bit of a tsundere."

**Shut the fuck up, I am not.**

Killua snorted. "A demon tsundere?"

"Yeah. Super tsun."

Gon sat up to readjust his position so he could rest his head on Miwa's stomach. Miwa looked down at him and he said, "The grass was getting uncomfortable."

"Understandable," she agreed.

Killua stared at the two for a moment then shrugged and used Gon's belly as his own pillow. He pulled Miwa onto his own stomach so the three children made a triangle of shared pillow-hood.

"Seriously can you do another one?" asked Gon.

"Sure."

**(≧ڡ≦*)**

The following day was one spent in relaxation. Gon and Killua were still determined to try and make up the money to purchase _Greed Island,_ so they set out early in the morning with Leorio to do that. Miwa was unbothered, she had complete faith in her thieving abilities, so she decided to spend the day relaxing in the hotel.

She ordered room service, used some fancy stay-in conditioner on her hair that Gon got her, and in general had a bit of a pamper day. There was something called a "salon" near the hotel that she overheard other ladies talk about that she decided to try out. The ladies said it made _their_ hair super soft afterward and Miwa was always down for soft things.

In the afternoon she headed out to the salon, a spring in her step. She was surprised to find Kurapika in the hotel lobby. He must have been on his way to visit her.

"Miwa," said Kurapika, his voice soft. Miwa was happy to see there was an underlying warmth to his core, and the once fragile glacier no longer had so many cracks. She smiled, a part of her hopeful that maybe he would be different.

Maybe Kurapika wouldn't be Sasuke.

She turned to face him fully, giving him her undivided attention.

"I—I wanted to confirm with you. I'm going to investigate thoroughly," he said. "I'm going to get the names, places, _everything_. When the time comes, can I call on you?

Miwa pulled out one of her _hiraishin_ tags that she kept in her pockets. "All you need to do is damage this. I'll come to you immediately."

"Thank you," he said, accepting it with a small smile. "We're—we're really going to do this, aren't we?"

"Yeah. We really are."

"Destroy the flesh market."

"Someone like you should be a protector, not an avenger," she murmured.

"Maybe," Kurapika allowed. "Miwa..."

"Mn?"

He placed a hand atop her head, patting her. "Thank you."

Miwa smiled brightly up at him. "You're welcome."

**(≧ڡ≦*)**

The salon was neat, if a bit smelly. It was a good way to eat up time until dinner. After dinner—Miwa ordered food all by herself, which she felt very proud about—she had to head back to the hotel to change into her thief outfit. She was delighted to find Gon and Killua were already back.

The three chatted for a couple of hours, getting side-tracked by different conversations.

Then the clock chimed at seven.

It was time! Time to steal the _Greed Island_ games. Miwa donned up her costume, excitement bursting inside her. She hugged Killua and Gon goodbye then headed off.

Unfortunately by the time she got to the auction house _everything was already stolen._

_'NOOOOOO!'_

**Hahahahahahahaha. They beat you.**

_'NOOOOOO! I ACTUALLY LOST!'_

**Hahahahahahaha.**

In a hurry, Miwa teleported to the Phantom Troupe hideout. Her eyes were wide with shock as she looked around the warehouse to see the members. Not many of them reacted to her presence. The few that did offered her courtesy nods. She was a touch disheartened to see that Feitan literally speed-walked out of the room.

What a pity.

Nobonunara cheerfully waved at her. "Miwa! Had a feeling you'd show up."

"The games," she blurted out, rapidly looking around the room.

"Don't worry," came the gentle voice of Chrollo. Miwa's eyes flickered up to where the leader sat atop rubble. "I have two copies here for you."

"Two—" Miwa blinked in surprise. "Oh, right."

She supposed she wouldn't be needing the third one. Miwa shifted anxiously, her brow slightly furrowed. She had forgotten to broach the subject with Gon and Killua.

**(Flashback)**

_Chrollo kept looking at her which made Miwa shift in her spot. "Um?"_

_"Do you have plans after the auction?" he asked her._

_Miwa blinked in surprise. "Well, my friends and I are looking for Gon's dad. I guess they have to play and beat a video game."_

_"A video game?"_

_"Yeah. I'm not very good at them," mumbled Miwa as she thought about the time Killua showed her the arcade at Heaven's Arena. She was downright terrible at it. The flashing buttons and noise was overwhelming. She didn't like fighting things that didn't have a smell, or even heartbeat._

_Killua said the game would probably take them a long time to beat. Miwa knew she wouldn't be of any help, so she'd likely just be sitting around._

_Which sounded crazy boring._

_She—she had hoped to talk to them about her visiting another city while they beat the game. She'd come right back to them when they were done with it, of course, but she'd rather not sit on her butt and stare at a screen all day every day for weeks. It screamed against her predator instincts to be still for so long. She liked to move. To feel the world around her._

_To find more fluff._

_She had to admit she was intrigued about Meteor City ever since she read about it at Gon's home. A city for the unwanted and trash._

_She knew a thing or two about being unwanted._

_She wondered, if perhaps—perhaps—when she died—_

_"I dunno what I'll be doing while they play," she confessed to Chrollo._

_"Would you like to accompany me to Meteor City?" he asked her._

_"Huh?" Miwa's eyes widened._

'Can he read minds?'

**_Doubtful._ **

_"I—I—" Miwa stammered for a response, genuinely caught off guard by his question. She had been pondering it, but she hated the idea of leaving Gon and Killua. She had rapidly grown attached to them over the nearly year-long adventure they had been on. She would deeply miss not being able to sleep and wake up next to them._

**_Why not go? Those brats are your friends which means some distance and time apart won't hurt. It'd only be while they're playing that stupid game._ **

'You—You don't think they'd be upset?'

**_Only one way to find out. Don't hold back on account of others. Do what you want. You've more than earned that right._ **

_"I'd like that," whispered Miwa._

_Chrollo did not smile, but she thought his nen did._

**(End Flashback)**

Miwa carefully accepted the _Greed Island_ copies Chrollo held out to her. She said, "Who else will travel with us?"

"No one else for now," he murmured quietly to her.

"And your friends are okay with that?" Miwa said, glancing around. While none had voiced their disdain for the idea, she had noticed that a fair few had given her a suspicious look when Chrollo asked her in the first place.

"They won't go against it," he said. "Take care, Miwa. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Mn... See you tomorrow."

**(≧ڡ≦*)**

Miwa returned to the hotel room, holding up the two copies of the game. Killua and Gon grabbed each one, both grinning at her.

"Nice!" Killua praised.

Miwa shook her head, frowning. "No. The troupe beat me to it. They gave me these copies."

"Oh. You'll beat 'em next time," consoled Gon as he patted her shoulder. "We'll help."

Miwa didn't respond right away. Gon and Killua were examining the game copies. Killua had flipped on extra lights in the hotel room as they studied the cases the games had come in.

"Pretty good condition," observed Killua, tilting it at different angles under the light.

Gon nodded, "Looks brand new. Think it is?"

Killua shrugged. "It didn't advertise it one way or the other. We'll need to find a place to play it next."

"We can—"

"I—I want to go to Meteor City," she blurted out, unable to hold it in any longer.

Killua and Gon looked up at her.

Killua was the first to respond, "Sure."

Gon said, "Okay."

Miwa's eyes widened, her heart skipping a beat. "Y-You're not upset?"

"I mean, we kinda figured you wouldn't wanna play a video game the whole time," said Killua with an easy smile. "I'm relieved you told us what you wanted to do, Gon was starting to freak out."

"I was not," said Gon blandly. " _You_ were freaking out, worried she'd be too bored."

Killua's cheeks turned red. " _You're_ the one that said something first!"

"I only said it because you were thinking it!"

"Idiot, how could you know what I'm thinking?"

"Because you're so obvious." Gon stuck out his tongue. "You're the idiot, _dummy_."

Miwa giggled when Killua threw a pillow at Gon. She said, "Thanks."

Gon ducked under the pillow. He grinned brightly at her. "'Course. We're friends. When we beat the game we'll call you."

"Please," said Killua firmly, " _please_ double check your texts before you send them.

"Ea—"

" _Do not finish that_ ," Killua hissed. Gon and Miwa wisley did not finish. He sighed. He set the case down onto the bed, his pale eyes matching Miwa's gaze. "It's okay to spend some time apart. We're not going to stop being friends—"

"Fiance's," coughed Gon.

Killua pulled Gon into a headlock as he continued, "We're not going to stop being friends. We'll always be friends."

"Always?" asked Miwa, a small quiver in her voice.

"Always and always," he promised her with a smile.

"Can't—breathe—" whimpered Gon in Killua's headlock.

**(≧ڡ≦*)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I'll do some scenes from Greed Island with these versions of Killua/Gon, but not certain. Not a huge fan of the arc which is why I'm skipping it in favor of doing some world building at Meteor City because why the fuck not.
> 
>  **Answer:** No one because I am lazy, but if I had to be I'd pick Naruto. All around good guy, and coulda used someone taking care of him growing up.
> 
>  **Question:** Favorite warm & cold beverage?
> 
> Reviews are **love**! 

**Author's Note:**

>  **Question:** What's your theme song, and what do you wish it would be?
> 
> Reviews are **love**!


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